


Pictures of Us

by arjasmo



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Romance, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Metacrisis Doctor (Doctor Who)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:35:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 62,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23759947
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arjasmo/pseuds/arjasmo
Summary: We all know what happened. Well, we all think we know. They were left on the beach. But what happened next? What if instead of the happy ending we all thought would happen didn't? What if when the blue box faded away so did the language that the Doctor knew? So now he was trapped in a world he knew little of with no way to communicate who he was to a wary, devastated Rose. And even worse he finds that Rose has lived on, making a life, and maybe even love, without him. Then before the dust even settles, an alien being threatens to take it all away.
Relationships: Metacrisis Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor/Metacrisis Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler, Tenth Doctor/Rose Tyler
Comments: 94
Kudos: 123





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thanks for joining me on yet another adventure. This one was one I had originally posted on Teaspoon, but looking back at it, it needed some rehab. So that's what I did. I added A LOT of content. It may not look huge, but the chapters are big. It was hard to break up. I'm not sure how many chapters it will be as I am still parceling it out (maybe 14ish). It is a completed work though, I am just shining it up in spots. In these weird times, I have been re-reading some of my favorites. I hope you find this one to be one of yours.

The wind blew across the pair as they stood hand in hand. His hair ruffled lightly and hers blew across her face once more. With her free hand she pulled it back before she glanced down at their joined hands. It occurred to Rose that this hand was warmer than that of the other him. They then watched as the blue box faded away, its grinding sound dying off as it was replaced by the sounds of the tide and the wind on the desolate beach. He squeezed her hand in his. It still was a perfect fit but somehow it felt smaller at the same time. Slowly she pulled from his grip and turned to face him. Her eyes were wet but the tears didn’t spill as of yet. She studied his face, taking in every inch without saying a word. She mapped his freckles as she had all those times before. They were exactly the same. Her intense gaze made him a little uncomfortable, not because he was nervous in her presence, but because it looked like she was scrutinizing him. Like trying to see if you really recognized someone. Then it occurred to him that she wasn’t sure that he was the Doctor she knew. 

In fact, he was. They were the same. In the quiet of the moment he felt he could only convey who he was with the intensity of his stare. 

Her expression didn’t change. She was searching. 

Finally, she took a step back, hands falling to her sides. He wondered what conclusion she had come to. He raised his eyebrows in anticipation of her next statement. Confusion played across her features; maybe not confusion as much as indecision. She shook her head lightly. She hadn’t come to a decision. “I suppose we should go then,” she said quietly, turning.

“Hmmm?” he asked, his head quirking to the side slightly.

She turned back. Wrinkling her brow at him. Has she not spoken clearly? “Let’s go, we need to call my father…and we have explaining to do.” She turned again and started to walk but could hear that he had not taken a step. 

She faced him again, this time noticeably a little perturbed. “Are you coming?” Then she caught sight of his face. He was pale, his mouth opening and closing like a fish, but no sound came out. His eyes were wide and frightened.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

He opened his mouth again to speak and out came a melodic mix of sounds, but not a single one anywhere near English. He looked at her expectantly. 

“What?” she asked, stepping toward him again. “What did you say?” By now her mother had trudged across the beach to them. 

“Rose, what’s wrong honey? I need to call your father and I’m frozen. C’mon then!” Jackie motioned for them to follow but neither moved. 

“Mum, something is wrong with the Doctor.” 

The Doctor turned to Jackie then back to Rose. 

“Doctor, what’s the matter?” Rose asked him carefully.

He shook his head at her, and she turned back to her mother. “It’s like he can’t understand me.”

Jackie stepped closer to him. “Can you not hear her?” she screeched into his ear.

The Doctor winced and stepped back. Again, he tried to speak but a similar mix of sounds came out. 

Rose and Jackie faced each other, open mouthed. Rose turned back to him. “Doctor? Do you know what I am saying?”

The Doctor shook his head a little and raised his hands palms up to indicate that he didn’t understand. It wasn’t a response to her words as much as an answer to the question her tone. “Why can’t he understand us?” Jackie asked. 

“I don’t know, mum. He speaks all the languages. I mean there’s no reason-“ She stopped, turning to him slowly. 

“When the TARDIS left, when HE left, did you lose your languages?” He offered no answer, except for sad eyes that went from Rose to her mother and back. 

Rose turned back to Jackie. “The other him, the um…proper one I suppose, said he is a mix of Timelord and human. But we spoke just minutes ago. Now he’s gone and this one can’t understand. It makes no sense.” The wind chose that moment to whip past them, dealing a bone chilling gust. She shivered, her arms crossing her body.

She turned back to him. “We need to sort this out, but not here. She indicated for him to follow and headed down the beach. He sighed deeply and set off after her. Jackie brought up the rear asking him questions he couldn’t answer. OoOoOoOThey loaded into the transport SUV and headed into the nearest town; it was still about an hour away. Rose drove and the Doctor offered the passenger seat to Jackie while he climbed into the back. Rose and Jackie didn’t talk, and the silence only made the air thicker. Rose drove, eyes straight ahead mostly, but even from behind the Doctor could see the tension in her shoulders. 

The only respite they got was when Jackie finally got phone service and called Pete.

From time to time the Doctor caught Rose staring at him in the rear-view mirror. When he did he tried to offer a smile but she would quickly look away. Her expression wasn’t cold or mad, but confused, lost. It was worse every time he saw her. 

Finally, he opted to just look out the window to avoid further eye contact as well as saving himself from having to see her become more and more upset. It was painful to watch, and even more painful that he had no answers. All he could surmise was that it was something to do with the TARDIS. He couldn’t figure out for the life of him why his ship would do this to him, other than that when he was born, he got a part of Donna where his language centers used to be. The TARDIS translated for him while she was there, but after she took off with the other him, she wasn't there to translate any more.She flew away taking his words with her. 

He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. This vehicle, while having seats in the back, was certainly not made to accommodate three full grown people for long distances. It wasn’t only the seat that was uncomfortable though, now that Jackie was done on the phone, the blanket of silence descended once more. 

The barren, windswept landscape gave little to look at. There was no help from the overcast sky, which made everything look grey and dull. The Doctor thought on his new life. He was essentially a day old and yet more than 900 years too. He had basically exiled himself to a new world. He had intended it as a gift to himself, he supposed, but it was turning into a nightmare. The one thing he wanted more than anything in the world sat a foot in front of him, but fate dealt him a cruel blow. It took his gob. Well truthfully it was still there, but not in a language anyone could understand. 

He had spoken to Donna and the others on the journey back. He even had taken time on the TARDIS to try to have a few words with himself. But this him, the one with Rose, had never not been with the TARDIS. Apparently the “gift” of translation had not allowed him to realize that when the blue box faded so would his ability to communicate.   
Realistically, he had won the lottery. He had Rose now, but couldn’t collect his prize. It obviously shook her. From what he could see with his stolen glances, she looked increasingly bereft. Dark circles had formed under her eyes and her face lacked its usual glow. Her eyes themselves had become more bloodshot with every look back at him. He heard the occasional sniff. The warmth of the transport did nothing to take away the cold rock that was sitting on his heart. One heart, all by itself and it hurt just as much as the two of them had when he lost her the first time. He pulled his jacket tighter but it didn’t help. He rested his forehead on the little window by his seat. It occurred to him that Rose may not be able to steal her glances as he would be out of her line of sight, but somehow it didn’t seem to matter.  
  
OoOoO  
The transport rumbled to a stop and the Doctor’s eyes shot open. He hadn’t realized he had dosed off. That was new. He had never had that happen before. He wiped his eyes and climbed out, stretching out his cramped legs. They had arrived at what looked like a little restaurant attached to a small zeppelin station. There were no zeppelins docked at the moment, but he surmised that’s where they were due to a picture of one on a sign that he couldn’t read. 

Rose and Jackie went inside and approached the counter. They both spoke to the lady behind the counter and Jackie paid. She then motioned for him to sit at a nearby table. He dutifully sat and waited for them. Rose picked up two bottles of red liquid that the Doctor recognized as Vitex and Jackie picked up a mug and teapot and brought them down. She set them in front of him and pointed to the teabag in a package. “Tea,” she said, pointing again. Well there it was, his first word. He had guessed what it was immediately, but now he had something to call it. 

The women sat quietly until the shop lady delivered their food. She placed what looked like a chicken sandwich with chips in front of him and he nodded in appreciation. For everything he had been through, he was surprised that he wasn't really hungry. Neither was Rose apparently. She still stole glances at him from time to time. After it looked like she was finished eating, he deliberately reached out for her hand under the table, but it wasn't in its usual spot, rather it was tucked in her pocket and didn't come out when he came close. 

A thousand words rushed to his mouth, explanations, apologies, requests, compliments, but they were useless. Rose must have read his desperate attempt to communicate and smiled at him sympathetically. She produced the hand he had tried to grasp and set it next to his on the table. He grabbed it quickly and looked directly in her eyes, imploring her to see him for who he was. "I AM the Doctor" he said, but not in English. "I'm him; really, this is just a little bump in the road. Can you see it? "

She shook her head sadly and he squeezed her hand in return. A tone sounded above their heads along with a voice over the intercom. Rose and Jackie looked up and gathered themselves. Rose pulled her hand from his. It was like she had pulled his heart out as well. This wasn't working. She didn't believe he was himself and he had no way of proving it to her. His chest felt hollow and cold, and it wasn't for the sudden loss of one heart, it was from the sudden loss of Rose. The flight back to London was again silent. Rose took a seat by the window and he sat next to her initially. She stared openly at him for a long while saying nothing. He tried to be comfortable with it, but it was unsettling. She did, however, let him hold her hand periodically. This was in between a couple of trips to the loo for each of them. That was new too. His former self had to void infrequently. Now it seemed like an hourly event. It, like all of it, would take time to become accustomed to. On one of his trips back from the loo, he found Jackie had taken his seat. She was deep in a whispered conversation with Rose. It didn't matter anyway; he wasn't getting any of it. He took another chair, as he did, he felt the unmistakable decent of the zeppelin.   
When they docked it was dark in London, the Doctor tried to take in the lights but he soon felt Jackie tugging on his sleeve, pointing to another transport. 

Shortly thereafter, they arrived at the now familiar Tyler mansion. Pete stood outside bathed in light from the front door. He had obviously been briefed on the Doctor's condition because he didn't attempt conversation, just gave him a firm handshake. 

A flurry of activity commenced. Jackie led the Doctor up the grand staircase, babbling the whole way. He mused that she must think that if she talked enough he would understand her. She showed him to a bedroom. It was a plain room done in neutral colors with generic pictures on the wall and a few bookshelves with a variety of books and knickknacks displayed. It was obviously a guest room. On the bed were some folded clothes they looked like jim jams and some jeans and a shirt, as well as white pants that looked new and white socks. She showed him the ensuite and indicated for him to put his suit in a hamper. She repeated herself because he was at that time gently setting his TARDIS coral on a bookshelf. She then turned to leave. She quickly realized that he was following her. "No sweetheart, this is where you sleep." she said, pointing behind him. He pointed out of the room and she realized that the last thing he wanted was to be in there. 

She stepped out of the way and he fled down the stairs. He arrived at the front door just as Pete was watching Rose pull away.   
"Rose?" the Doctor asked Pete.

Pete was a little startled at the Doctor’s sudden speech, but it wasn’t hard to guess where he had picked up her name, they had each said it around him multiple times. "She had to go home, Doctor," Pete answered. But of course the Doctor had no idea what he said.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More fallout and you will see how things are in Pete's world. Don't kill me. We all know it could have happened. This would be a good time to remind you, dear listeners, that I am physically incapable of writing a fic without a happy ending. Hold onto that thought.

Rose pulled out of the driveway and got a full hundred feet down the road before she had to pull over, her vision clouded with tears. Once they started they came with a vengeance. She had held back pretty well in his presence, but now there was nothing holding them in. She sobbed for quite some time, periodically striking the steering wheel in anger. How did this happen? The one thing she had wished for had come true. She had been handed him on a silver platter, but it wasn't him, not even close. Yes he wore his face, but he couldn't possibly be the same man. Even worse, the one person in the universe she wanted to talk to she couldn't. The proper Doctor was gone, the replacement was here and unable to communicate. It was like a cruel joke; some universal prank, and it was awful. 

OoOoOoO

An hour and a half and a box of tissues after leaving the Tyler mansion, Rose used her key to open the front door of her flat. She tossed the keys in the dish by the door and instantly cringed at the clatter. She hadn’t intended on making noise.

“Rose?” came a groggy voice from the bedroom. Rose sighed.

”Yeah Andrew, it’s me.”There was a rustle of sheets and a tall, muscular man emerged from the bedroom. He had short curly brown hair, wore a goatee, and had piercing blue eyes. He wore a t-shirt and pajama pants. He took her into a tight hug, lifting her off the ground. "I missed you! I’m so glad you’re safe. Your dad has been giving me updates. I mean I knew you were doing a jump, but I figured it would- never mind. I was so worried. I'm so glad you're home. Tell me everything!” He set her down and led her to the kitchen. 

Andrew and Rose had been together for about four months. He had been primarily living at her flat for about the last month of that. Before they were together they had been close friends. It had started slowly at first. Andrew had been assigned to the dimension canon project and had worked with her, preparing her for whatever she may encounter when she arrived. He knew Rose as a driven team member. Early on, he had been a little put off by her attitude. He found her to be forceful and unyielding in her desire to go back. Then with the occasional dinner at work, a walk or two to retrieve gear, and lots of practice fighting they started to get closer. 

In the early days, Rose told him all about the Doctor. She didn’t leave anything out. Andrew was a sympathetic ear when she needed one most. He had lost his parents at a young age and had tales to tell himself. There was no romance in the beginning; but with more dinners and late nights and failed attempts and bad jumps they bonded. Andrew became her go-to guy for everything. Then a kitchen fire at his flat coupled with a particularly horrific experience during a jump for Rose led to him staying over and not leaving. Not only was Andrew a good listener, but he was patient. Rose hadn’t been looking for a relationship. Heck they were working together to get her back to her one true love. They both knew it. As time went on however, and failed attempts mounted up, things began to change. Again, slowly, she let him in. He knew all about her travels and the Doctor, but very little about Rose the person. That also changed.

Intimacy didn’t happen right away either. They frequently hugged, especially after a tough day. Then one day over pasta with wine, they kissed. It wasn't a hot and heavy relationship, rather a slow and steady one. Intimacy came only very recently, mostly since he moved in. Now Rose sat at her kitchen table, across from a man that she was growing to love, about to tell him that she brought back a clone of the one she did love. Was clone the best way to describe him? The proper Doctor had said they were exactly the same. It was all so confusing. He looked at her like the Doctor, but when he reached for her hand, he was warm. When she looked at him, scrutinized him for any other differences but she couldn’t see any. He even smelled the same.  
  
Sitting across from Andrew now she let it all out. She told him everything from when she landed on the street, him running to her and being shot by the Dalek, his almost regeneration, and how they saved the universe. It took three hours, in which Andrew sat in rapt attention. 

Upon completion, Rose sat back, visibly deflated. She had delivered all the facts, a proper debriefing. Andrew leaned forward. “OK so you have filled me in on everything. Wow, it's a lot. I’m so glad you are alright. But I have one question, well actually two.”

“Shoot,” Rose answered quietly, as if she knew what was going to come out. 

“Is he the real Doctor? And do you still love him?”

Rose rubbed her face. Her makeup was long gone and she had run out of tears hours ago. “Andrew, I need you to know that you mean the world to me and that hasn’t changed. I don’t know though, for either question. I wish I had an answer. My brain has long since turned to jelly. I feel like I don’t have all of the information to answer you. Plus he can’t exactly answer any of my questions. I hope he can learn to talk, but I have no idea how long that will be. With the old Doctor I would have said he’d be all fixed up in a day or so, but I don’t know for sure. Can you do me a favor?”

“What?”

“Can we not label anything for now? No matter what happens it will be long road. I’m not giving up on you. I just don’t know…” she started to cry again. Andrew got up from his seat, swept her up and carried her into the bedroom where he rubbed her back until she fell asleep. He then got up and left for the couch. 

OoOoOoO

Jackie usually was a pretty heavy sleeper, but with all the unrest in the house, she woke several times that night. At one point she thought she heard a loud thump in the direction of the Doctor’s room. She opted not to investigate since it was not followed by a cry of pain. She knew he needed his space at this moment. 

Jackie had not known it at the time, but the thump she heard was the sound of his return. Seeing Rose's car pull away, anger, frustration and unadulterated grief bubbled inside him. Immediately he realized he was not fit to be with others. That was new too. Anger itself was not new, but he had a handle on it, well mostly. But on that day, his emotions shot off like a rocket, climbing impossibly fast. He found his hands balling into fists, his jaw setting and his breathing increasing. Without so much as a look at Pete, he raced up the stairs to his room. He only lasted there a minute. Unable to stop his thoughts, he desperately rushed for the window, flinging it open and gulping in the cool night air. After a few beats he stuck his head out. The grounds were quiet and dark. His next decision was made even before it was fully formed. He slipped out the window, holding onto the sill only briefly. With his long frame and arms, he only fell a few feet onto the soft grass. Then he was off. He had nowhere to go, let alone any sense of direction there, but he ran none the less. He only stopped after catching a root on his trainer and tumbling into a tree. He stood carefully, checking for damage, also taking in the tree. It was old, its weathered branches mostly dead. But it blocked his path. 

The first blows came without warning. He wasn’t a violent man. Well, he didn’t used to be. But the first hit felt good, and the second felt even better. He lost count soon after that. 

OoOoOoIn the morning Jackie got up as normal and opted for a traditional breakfast. Her culinary skills had improved dramatically, most likely due to the motivation of a fully stocked and beautiful kitchen. They often had a chef come in for dinners, but she managed throughout the day. After preparing everything, including bacon, she went to retrieve the Doctor. She knocked on his door and it took a full minute for him to answer. 

Jackie tried not to react to the Doctor that answered the door. His hair was much flatter, him having showered and not had product to put in it. He wore a crisp white shirt and jeans that Jackie had provided but they were at least two sizes too big each. He had a blue tie loosely tied around the collar. The worst part was his face. He looked gaunt and tired. Dark circles loomed under his eyes, and his eyes themselves lacked their usual sparkle. He half smiled at her, but kept his hands behind his back. 

“Do you want to eat?” she asked, pantomiming eating.

He shook his head a little, but she grabbed him by the shoulder anyway. “Come on you plum, if you don’t eat you will waste away to nothin’!” She pushed him down the hallway. When she glanced back into the room she stopped. He wore no shoes now, but his trainers lay near the window, they looked muddy, next to the blue suit that hadn’t made it to the hamper. It, too looked to be covered in mud. What had he done?

OoOoOoOoOoO

In the kitchen Jackie directed the Doctor to a seat at the table. He was seated across from a little towheaded down shyly. Jackie put down a plate in front of him. It was loaded with eggs, bacon and toast. She set down a jar of marmalade next to him and a mug of tea. He carefully lifted his hands to the table, it was no use hiding them. 

“What happened to your hands?” Jackie screeched and for once the Doctor was relieved to neither understand her or be able to answer her. But he got her intent. His knuckles were cut and bruised but healing already. At least he knew what one of his time lord parts remained. He raised his shoulders at her and she “Humphed” and turned around, not wanting to get after him anymore. He sighed and went about slathering his toast with butter and the sweet spread. His first bite was more enjoyable than he would have imagined, and he quickly took another. He was hungrier than he thought. 

After coming back the night before, it also could have been the morning, as his time sense was now rubbish, he had climbed back into his room, taken off his muddy clothes and taken a scalding hot shower. After abusing the tree, his anger and frustration abated a bit. At least it was enough to come back to the house. The shower helped with the soreness, but stung terribly also. He finally climbed onto the bed with no intention of sleeping just as the sky was lightening with the impending dawn. He lay there, staring at the ceiling trying to figure out the situation and the best way to approach Rose. He had come up with exactly 54 scenarios, but with little ways to implement any of them when his eyes slipped closed. The sleep was fitful though, and only lasting a short while until the sounds of the house waking up brought him to consciousness again. He groaned, got out of bed and located the clean clothes that had been left for him, frowning in the mirror at how they hung off his body and how disheveled he looked. His hair lay limp, and he had a long past five O'clock shadow. Sighing, he left the mirror to slip on the white tube socks. Jackie had knocked minutes later. He considered not answering, but knew it wouldn't work. She as a force of nature and there was no stopping her. 

Then, as he sat at the table, he glanced up. Directly in front of him, two big blue eyes peered at him over a cereal bowl. Despite his current mood, he forced a smile at the boy but Tony didn’t smile back. He had a toy car on the table next to his bowl. Something told him to move forward. Something about this little boy was compelling. He looked at the car again and pointed to it with a question on his face.

“It’s broken,” the boy said simply. He picked it up and frowned, showing the Doctor how the wheels were stuck and wouldn’t roll. It was supposed to be the kind of car that you pulled back and let go. “See, it’s broken, the wheels won’t roll.”

The Doctor smiled and indicated for Tony to hand over the car. The boy’s tendency to repeat himself was helpful. 

He turned the car over then picked up his better knife, quickly wiping the excess butter and marmalade off. Then he used it to pop off the bottom panel of the car off, all the while being analyzed by the little boy. Soon his breakfast was forgotten as he worked on the innards of the car. 

Tony went back to eating, but it was a wonder that anything got in his mouth as he wasn’t looking at his bowl or cereal. His eyes instead were trained on the strange man at his breakfast table. Minutes later the Doctor snapped the bottom back on the car, set it on the table, lined it up, pulled it back and let go. The car shot across the table, off the end and halfway down the hall. Tony let out a squeal of delight, jumped down from his chair and ran after it. 

“Mum!” he yelled, scurrying back into the kitchen. “It’s not broken anymore! He fixed it! Him! Hey what’s your name?”  
Jackie leaned down to her son and rumpled his hair. “Remember son? This is the Doctor. We talked about him.” 

“He doesn’t talk,” Tony observed out loud and Jackie winced. 

The Doctor could only guess what happened, but it wasn’t hard to figure out. 

“Well sweetheart, The Doctor is, ah, having a little trouble understanding words. Perhaps you can help him while I clean up.”

Tony regarded the Doctor for a moment. "Come on then, I'll teach ya." He took the Doctor by the hand and led him to the playroom. 

Jackie straightened and walked back into the kitchen, just as Pete walked in. 

He snagged a piece of bacon off a plate. “Jacks, I got a notification last night about someone on the grounds.”

“What about the alarm? Why didn’t you tell me? That’s terrifying.”

“I was in my office dealing with something, I hadn’t set the alarm yet. Then I got distracted and forgot to set it at all. But we are still monitored. Torchwood always keeps thermal and pressure sensors on the grounds. But that is not live monitoring. If they get a reading, a technician checks on it, but it’s usually deer or a fox. But early this morning they sent me a picture. It was the Doctor. I didn’t wake you because he was back in the house by the time I got the notification. They didn’t sound any alarm because the figure was leaving the house. They thought it may be me. But the Doctor, he-he was doing something just out of camera range, but they said it looked like he may have been hitting something. Did you see anything?”

“You mean other than that his hands were torn to shreds?” she asked back. 

Pete let out a breath, shaking his head. “I can only imagine what he’s going through, and it’s not going to get any easier when he learns what we’re saying.”

“Or that our daughter has found someone else.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ouch, OK you may be mad at me after this. Just don't throw anything hard.

Rose woke later than normal that morning. Well, waking was not exactly what happened. After tossing and turning all night, her brain running through everything that had happened, everything that could happen, and what she needed to do, she finally fell asleep around 4am. when her eyes opened at 7, she felt aches all over and a terrific headache. She groaned. 

Elsewhere in the flat, she could hear Andrew in the kitchen. His side of the bed was still made up and it occurred to her that he hadn't slept next to her. She didn't know how to take that. She got up, used the loo and shuffled into the kitchen where he put a cup of coffee in her hands.   
"Thanks" she accepted the coffee with a smile and sat at the table.   
Andrew leaned on the counter holding his own mug. He was fully dressed and looked like he was heading to work. "So what now, Rose?"  
Rose inwardly cringed. That certainly was the question now wasn't it? She honestly didn't know. "Andrew, I... Oh God I don't know. I can't even think right now. It's just all so weird. I never even put thought to something like this happening.”  
Andrew softened. He decided to give Rose a pass. He came behind her and wrapped his arms around her shoulders and kissed her ear. "Listen, I know this is completely overwhelming. How can it not be? I just want you to know that I’m here. It's not like I started up with you not knowing the story. You made it very clear why we were making the dimension canon. Who would have ever thought it would work in the first place, and then you would come back with him in the second place?"  
Rose set down her cup and held him by the arms. "I can't even wrap my head around it and I know him! I really need to talk to him, but I can't. I need to tell him everything, about me, about us. He needs to know that my life went on when he wasn't here, I mean like his did. He kept travelling and I kept living. But this man, the one at my mum's, I don't know what to think about him. Is it really him? Oh, this is torture." She squeezed tighter.   
Andrew held her back for a few minutes, then he let go and stood up. "Rose, you need to go to him, talk to him. Find out if it is him and what he's thinking. He'd be a fool if he thought you were sitting here and just pining for him for all this time."  
"Yeah."  
"Listen Rose, I know that you're conflicted now. Can I ask you for one thing? Can you just think about me too? I mean I would hate for everything we put into our relationship just go away. You know how I feel about you, but I know you need your space right now and I'm willing to give you it."  
"Thanks, Andrew."  
He dropped a kiss on the crown of her head and grabbing his keys from the dish, headed out the door. Rose sat, staring at nothing, for another hour before she got up and got ready to see the Doctor. OoOoOoOoO The Doctor and Tony had spent the morning watching children's television programs and fixing all of Tony's broken cars and trucks, a welcome distraction for the Doctor. As the boy buzzed all over the room he felt his anger abate. It was hard not to let that happen, as the boy was a vessel of pure joy. He smiled easily, laughed happily at a variety of things, and seemed to have real concern about the Doctor, even taking very seriously his new job of being the principal English teacher. 

Beyond Tony, the playroom and its offering of children’s television and simple ideas allowed his brain to focus. On the telly, pictures were being paired with words. On top of that, the boy handed him things and repeated their names. The Doctor absorbed as much as he could as quickly as he could. It did strike him as funny though that he now knew the words for baby and shoelace. The nature of the shows allowed him to pick up language parts and beginning reading. It was about perfect to get him started and he could run from there. Within an hour he was able to form a few phrases in his head with the occasional personal pronoun. Escaping Jackie had proven the best idea of the morning.   
He tinkered with Tony’s toys, careful not to make anything go dangerously fast. He found that spending time with the boy was tremendously helpful as he had loads of patience for a boy his age yet didn’t look at him like the adults did. There was no pity, just curiosity. Tony loved the attention too. Without siblings his age, Tony probably played alone a lot and having someone devote his undivided attention to him was wonderful. He loved his new playmate and showed him everything he could in his little boy world. They had been left to their own devices too, as Jackie had run off somewhere and Pete must have gone to work. 

OoOoOo  
On the drive back to the mansion, Rose ran over and over in her head what she needed and wanted to do. This was her first time to really try to communicate with him and she had to figure out how to do it. There was so much to tell him, not all of it what she wanted to. But she had lived on when he was gone. He certainly couldn’t fault her for that. Life goes on right?

Her relationship with Andrew was not born of spite or a rebound. No, it was organic. It happened without being forced. She didn’t know if she would be with him forever, but he was there when she needed him. There was so much to think about. Why had she kept up with the dimension cannon after finding Andrew? Well, she knew that answer, it was because she had to, or at least she thought she had to. But at the end, right before she found the Doctor, she had been having second thoughts. What if she never found him, would she keep jumping forever or until she couldn’t anymore? With a mix of sadness and resolve, she had said that she would only make the rest of the planned jumps and that would be it. Then she would focus on what she had instead of what she was looking for. But then she found him. And then everything changed. Now another person was in the mix. A person who was supposed to be him, but was so very different and the same at the same time. 

She had to tell him. It was no use to try to hide that her life had moved forward. But how? How could she communicate everything with someone who couldn’t understand her, let alone speak? 

As her mind raced, she scanned the world around her. People walking, cars, zeppelins in the sky, one had a banner on the side, advertising something or another, a picture of a happy dog with a bone. That was it, pictures. She could explain herself by drawing. Hopefully he would get it. Of course he would, he was brilliant.

When Rose arrived at the house, no one was in the kitchen or living room. She set her things on the kitchen table and stood still. She could hear Jackie on a phone call somewhere. As usual, she was deep in conversation about someone or something that mattered very little to Rose. Then she heard laughing from another direction. It was from her little brother.   
She followed the sound to the playroom and peeked around the corner. The Doctor was sitting on the floor with his back against the couch. There were toys littered all around. Tony was in the Doctor's lap and they had a book open in front of them. Tony was pointing to a picture in it. "That's a ball."  
"That's a ball," the Doctor repeated.  
Rose's heart swelled. How she had missed that voice. She leaned in a little closer to get a better look at him. He was dressed in oversized, unfamiliar clothes but he looked just as handsome as before. His hair was tamed and looked soft, missing his usual product, but somehow it too flattered him. She had never seen him dressed so casually, even though he was wearing a tie. But jeans? Her heart pounded a little harder.   
"Oh, that's cake!" Tony enthused, pointing to another picture.  
"Cake," the Doctor parroted.   
Rose stepped into the room. "Hello boys, it looks like you are having fun."  
"Rose!" the Doctor said, breaking into a wide smile. Tony jumped up and ran to hug his sister. 

Rose couldn’t help breaking into a massive smile at hearing her name, even though she had heard it before from those lips, well maybe not those lips but-. She was broken from her spiral by her brother attaching himself to her legs.  
"Rose, I'm teaching him! He can talk now!"  
Rose bent over to hug her brother back. "That’s great. I know I could count on you. But can I have him for a little while? We need to talk about grownup stuff."  
"Sure, I guess." Tony sulked a moment but still held up a hand to give the Doctor a high five as he walked back to the couch to watch his television program.   
Rose walked over to the Doctor, who was still sitting, and offered her hands to pull him up. He accepted, grinning, but then stopped as her gaze found his wounded knuckles. She held on though, getting him up to standing. He wobbled a little as his legs had fallen asleep when he was sitting. She grabbed him around the waist to steady him. "Legs," he said, looking sheepish and putting his hands behind his back.  
He brought his gaze up to her eyes and stayed there. The soft brown drew her in. It was like a thousand other times they had stood like that, or was it? Then she noticed his face. He hadn't shaved, and for the first time ever, she saw him with scruff. Then she took in his face. Even though he wore a smile, he was still pale, dark circles featuring proximately. She had never seen this before. It was so... Human.

Rose stiffened, and the Doctor quickly stepped back, suddenly very interested in his stockinged feet. He had intended on going in for a hug, as he was happy to see her again, but at that moment that didn’t seem like such a great idea. The temporary respite he had gotten from his feelings was over in a snap and he let out a slow breath. He again pasted on a pleased expression trying in vain to show her he was alright.  
Rose was smiling though, but cautiously. Her eyes evaluating him again. 

He laughed nervously, hoping it would allow her to not be overcome with the increasing awkwardness.

She spoke first, pointing at his shirt. “I like the new clothes, very nice.” She was actually taking a gamble that he could understand her, but it seemed like a safe bet that he would get some of it.   
“Big,” he answered, fluffing the shirt out.   
Rose giggled, ”Yeah they may have been Mickey’s or my dad’s. But they still look good.”  
He didn’t have an answer for her and just nodded.   
Before the silence could stretch again she took a breath.“OK, so… come with me?” She motioned for him to follow. He followed, resisting the urge to take her hand.   
Rose pointed to a chair at the table for him to sit, and then joined him a minute later with a stack of papers and a package of Tony’s crayons. She sat next to him, which made him happy at the proximity, but unsure at the same time. He had no idea what she was doing.   
Rose took a paper off the top of the stack, picked up a blue crayon and drew the TARDIS. She pointed to it. “TARDIS” she said. He nodded again. It’s not like Rose thought he didn’t know what it was, but maybe didn’t have a word for it in English.   
Next, she drew the Doctor in a brown suit, and then her a little bit away from him. Picking up a red crayon, she drew a huge heart in between them. The Doctor smiled broadly at this. He noticed her silence and realized it wasn’t for his benefit, but because she couldn’t find the words for the Doctor she had drawn. To this his smile faded.   
Rose then picked up a black crayon and drew a jagged line between the two of them. “This is the void.”  
“Yeah” he said, blowing out a breath. Now he got it, she was drawing the story of them. His heart sank; this wasn’t going to turn out well.   
Rose set that paper aside and drew herself again. She drew a building with little green aliens around it. “This is Torchwood.” Also, on the page she drew herself working, holding a gun, and also in other places that he took to mean her different dimension hops. “This is me trying to find…you. I also fought aliens and learned a lot. It was a long time.”  
The Doctor leaned forward catching her eye. He was smiling again. “Rose fight bad guys?” He was swelling with pride, both with her for being so good at what she did and with himself for assimilating something Tony had said earlier about a cartoon. He had pointed out the big black car on an animated show and indicated that they were the ‘bad guys’. He repeated it enough that the Doctor caught on. He was starting to get it when Jackie came in and, much to Tony’s protest, changed the telly to a preschool show.  
“Well Tony is rubbing off on you; yes, I fought the bad guys I guess.” She returned his smile, but it didn’t make it to her eyes. The Doctor had been trying to make light of the situation, or at least make her smile. He was trying to stay positive despite everything. Having her here was like someone had turned the lights on. It has always been. Just having her near filled him with joy. But there was something new there. Like a dark cloud had filled the room.

Rose got a new page to start another picture. She noticeably took a deep breath. The Doctor felt a little sick all of a sudden, like something unpleasant was about to be unleashed, he didn’t know what it was and here was no way to stop it.   
The light tremor that made it into her hands was impossible to deny. She picked up a crayon, put it down and rubbed her hands together. She didn’t look at him as she picked up the crayon again, taking another breath. With each passing moment the Doctor grew more anxious. This was going to be bad. 

Rose drew herself, gun in hand again, with little aliens around, she actually took the time to draw little smiles on them. The Doctor followed with rapt attention. It was the same as the last picture, but she kept drawing. Then next to her she started to draw another person. He was tall but stouter than the Doctor. He had curly hair and a goatee. She pointed to the figure and simply said, “Andrew.” She didn’t look directly at him, but only slightly up. He could see the color had drained from her face. 

She set down the crayon she was using and reached for a red one, dropping it at first and squeezing her hand into a fist before picking it up again. Tentatively she started on what looked like a red circle between the two figures. Then it took shape. It was a little heart. 

The Doctor stared down at the symbol. His eyes went slightly out of focus, and his own heart begun to race. For just a second he realized that that was something he had never experienced before, his heart acting on its own. Also, what came next, nausea and dizziness, were new too. He stood suddenly, causing his chair to fly back across the floor. He walked to the window and looked out, scrubbing his hands through his hair, then placing a steadying hand on the windowsill.  
He looked out at the landscape without seeing it. All he could think was that Rose had someone new. How thick could he be? In those seconds after the kiss he was sure he was finally going to get what he had wanted for so long. He was going to get the prize he had waited all his lives for. But no. 

He jammed his hands deep into his pockets. Slowly he drew a breath, then another. Each was stuttering. Tears pricked his eyes. Realistically he should have expected this, and he was stupid to not have thought of it. It had been a long time in this world. Years… at least here. She was a normal girl, no, an exceptional girl. People wanted to be with her. Whoever this Andrew was would be no different. Her life went on, she moved on. And he wasn’t there. 

He heard a sniff behind him but did not have it in him to turn to face her at the moment.   
Rose blinked tears out of her eyes. He was mostly silhouetted in the light from outside. Such a familiar figure stood there, one that she had longed to be with for so long, now she had dealt him a crushing blow. His clothes now even looked bigger on him than before, like he had shrunken in the last few minutes. With his hands in his pockets, it pulled his trousers down just enough to show the tops of his pants. She had never seen anything like that before, he looked so…exposed. She could have counted the times she saw him without his jacket on one hand. But now, in someone else’s clothes he looked so vulnerable. Her story, her explanation of her life now, had done this to him. Her intention was never to hurt him, but she had to tell him. 

The heaviness in her heart got worse with every passing second. 

She had hoped he would take it better, but now knew that was daft. Of course, he would take it badly. He had just been left behind but was supposed to have her. There was no way he could have known that life had kept going or the direction it would take. But seeing him, there in front of her, a slouch creeping into his confident posture, hurt more than any physical pain she had ever endured. It hurt more that the white wall too. She had thought that that was the worst day of her life. But this one just topped it. He was there, right in front of her, but yet she wasn't sure. Did they have the love he professed to on the beach? How could he be the same? It didn’t make sense. She couldn’t even sort that out, let alone the fact that she had Andrew. There was too much to separate out. Too many things flying around in her head. Two men, love, the loss of another, the fear, the questions. Who was the real Doctor, was there one? Who did she love the most? She could no longer hold it back.  
She sniffed again and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. This time when he turned to her his eyes were wet too. He looked at her and let out a sigh. She could tell that he was working to form a sentence. “Doctor and Rose are…broken?”  
That voice, coming from that man, his eyes sad, crying like her, that was it. Rose covered her face and tried desperately to choke back her sobs. It hardly worked. Soon she was shaking, her sobs no longer containable. She heard his chair scrape across the floor and land next to her then she could hear him sitting in it. Finally, she heard crayon on paper. Again, she wiped her eyes and peeked out. He had drawn himself in brown and was halfway to quickly drawing himself in blue. Each one had brown spikey hair and a smile. “Same Doctor, all same,” he said, poking his finger at each figure.   
Rose was staring at him again, almost like she didn’t believe him. Before she knew it, he was drawing again. This time it was her and him, he was wearing the blue suit. He picked up the red crayon but paused with it in his hand. It hovered just above the paper. Rose reached over and picked up the black crayon and drew a question mark in between them. The Doctor set his crayon on the table and turned to face her. Confusion played across his face. Even if he didn’t know what a question mark was, he obviously got the concept. His eyebrows went up briefly then his face dropped. He reached for her hand and held it, but she stood, sliding her hand out.   
“Doctor, I can’t right now. I just can’t. I just don’t know.” Her thumb migrated to her mouth and her eyes moved to the floor.  
He reached for her, but she stepped back. 

“Rose, I’m the Doctor. We are same. Please…”  
Before she could resist, he had her in a tight hug. At first, she was stiff but after a few seconds, melted into him. She started to shake, and he realized she was crying again. All he could do was hold her.   
He wanted to whisper encouragement in her ear but didn't have the words. He didn't know how to tell her how he was feeling. He had assimilated much information in the past few hours, but very little of it applied now. He tried though. “Same, same,” he murmured in her ear.  
Rose leaned back and put her hands on his chest, looking up at him. He looked down with a familiar goofy grin. Then Rose pushed off gently.   
"Doctor, I... I don't know what to tell you. I don't know how much you understand. I know you say you are the same, but I don’t know. It’s hard for me to- see that you and him are… And if you are the Doctor, you were gone for so long. I never intended on replacing you. That's not what Andrew is. It just happened. But I don’t know. I missed him, so badly, I mean you.” She paused, swallowing hard. Do you get what I'm saying?"  
"You don’t know I am the Doctor,” he said, all the enthusiasm draining from his voice. With eyes downcast, he continued. “Um...Rose...you and Andrew are, erm... family?"  
"No, not yet, maybe not ever. I don't know. There’s a lot I don’t know."  
He shook his head and growled. "I don't...ahhh!" His anger, up until this point buried, was starting to rear its head. Not at Rose, but at the situation. He balled his fists, letting the nails dig into this palms, and forcing his breathing to slow. He couldn't explain it, but he was so much quicker to anger. The other him had warned about it, but until he had to punch the tree, this Doctor didn't believe it. But now his anger was thinly veiled, so much so that Rose could see it.  
Rose's eyes went to his hands, which he forced to relax when he saw she was looking. She examined his face, he was more red, his jaw clenched. She instinctively knew he wasn't mad with her, but at what was happening. His world, even in its infancy, was crumbling. The worst part was that there was no way to explain it fully. Rose could tell that he simply wasn't getting it, or if he got it, he didn’t know how to express what he had to say. Watching it was torturous. She could only imagine what it was like for him. She tried smiling at him, trying to break the tension. “Doctor, you’re learning. We don’t have to figure it all out now. We’ll get there and we can get it all sorted. No one is making any decisions right now. I need to go now.”

His eyes shot to hers, his eyebrows knit in confusion. The anger drained from his face, replaced quickly by sadness when it dawned on him what must be happening. 

She shook her head. She just didn’t know what to say anymore.  
"Rose is that you?” Jackie came into the kitchen and eyed the two of them and the pictures now scattered on the table. She looked back up to them but didn't react to the scene. "I'm taking him into town for some clothes after lunch. Would you like to come along?"  
Rose took a breath and faced her mother. "No mum I have to... I have to go to work. I'll swing round tomorrow or sooner maybe, I’ll ring you."  
Jackie whispered loudly. "Did you tell him about Andrew?"  
The Doctor rolled his eyes at the mention of the name. He wanted to tell Jackie that whispering in his presence was stupid, but he doubted it would have mattered. Plus, he had no idea how to express that.   
Rose turned quickly, but then thought again and turned to face him. "I have to go, I'll see you later." She choked on the last words. The Doctor understood the intent and went to go after her then suddenly realized that all he could have done is held her, and that hadn't worked before. He gave her a weak smile. She could have said anything then because he hadn't understood her last sentence. She was in turmoil just like him. It had to hurt her just as much as it did him.  
In her car Rose cried a few minutes more. When she left the house, she would have given anything to have heard, "Not if I see you first."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is one to move us along. Things got a little crazy here last week. I'll try to put something out soon. Maybe very soon.

The Doctor stood still until he heard Rose’s car pull out minutes later. He had noticed that she didn’t leave immediately and hoped she hadn't been crying.   
Suddenly he had an urge to go back outside, to find that tree again. His pulse, now lonely in his chest, sped up. This wasn't fair! How could all of this happened? He was supposed to have her! He took a step towards the door when a small hand grabbed at his. The Doctor went to take another step when he felt a distinctive tug. He whipped his head around to see the sweet blue eyes of Tony. "Doctor? It's time to eat. C'mon! Mum's made macaroni!"

The Doctor looked at the boy tugging on his hand. As much as he wanted to let off steam, this boy was here, pulling him back.The urgency drained. He took a breath and followed. As he was tugged along he marveled at the fact that this boy helped so much. He was a grounding force. The only question remaining was what he would do the next time the anger came and no one was there. 

When they got to the table, Jackie was babbling while spooning out macaroni and cheese. He got the gist of what she was saying and pulled a face. The very last thing he wanted to do in this world was to go shopping with Jackie. He sat at the table again across from Tony, who was excitedly telling him about something he had seen on the telly. The Doctor sat quietly eating. It had been a rough morning, though he found that he was actually hungry this time. The boy was a welcome diversion, and had pulled him from a most likely destructive episode. For that he was grateful. But now as he chewed slowly he couldn’t stop his mind from wandering back to Rose's face and the pictures. 

He needed a plan. Right now, he had no way of talking to Rose and convincing her that he was himself and she needed to give him a chance. He had an urge just to blurt it out, scream that he was the Doctor and that he was here to spend his forever with Rose. The frustration was crippling though. If he acted on impulse, he could lose her. She had moved on. He didn't blame her; time had passed, a lot of time. There were no guarantees that she would have found him or that she would be with him. He had been selfish to think that she would be waiting for him, putting her life on hold, only to jump into his arms when he came back. Now he had to work for it. There was hope though, he thought back to the pictures. The heart she had drawn between her and Andrew was 1.27 centimeters in width, whereas the one between he and her was 4.2 centimeters wide. Of course, that heart was between him and the Doctor in brown. But he was him, they weren’t twins but the very same man. He had to convince her that he was that man and that they could have what they had and so much more. 

OoOoOoO

Rose sat in the generic bank of desks amongst the other agents. She recognized the people on either side of her but didn’t know their names. She had work to complete, but instead was staring at the "After Incident Report" that was in the center of her work surface. The problem was that she didn't know where to start. She sighed and poked the top cover of the folder with her pen. As of today she was re-assigned to general duties as a Torchwood agent. That meant that she went back to investigating alien issues and responding to incidents with a team full time rather than just between jumps. 

She had been told to take days off both by her supervisor and by Pete, but this report wasn’t going to write itself. Plus, maybe doing some work would allow her to take a breath and find an angle in which to deal with her new situation. She had already gotten a lecture from Pete on coming back too soon, but in her mind, it needed to happen. Andrew had drawn a similar assignment, but they had not crossed paths yet. The nature of his job was that he sometimes moved between teams. So they would work again together, it was only a matter of time. 

As soon as the dimension cannon project was done, she was told to move out of the small conference room with the window overlooking London. The walls of the room walls had held various schematics and memos related to the dimension canon project. They were all down now, tucked neatly into files. She had done that as soon as she had gotten in. But wasn't as if she wanted to forget what had happened but that a page had been turned and it was time to move on, in whatever direction that was. 

Leaning back in her chair, she put the heels of her hands to her eyes. She still had a headache from this morning. The Doctor had been so sweet, but his reaction to the pictures stung. But then had held her so tight. It felt right, he felt right. But as soon as she left him, logic prevailed and doubt crept in again. Then there was the thought of Andrew. He hadn't done anything to deserve this. He was a wonderful bloke and by all rights she should want to spend the rest of her life with him. It wasn't fair. No matter what happened, one great guy would be left out. 

The worst part was that the one person who understood everything, including her, was unable to talk to her. She wanted nothing more than to sit and hash this out with him. If he was who he said he was then they should be able to come to a conclusion about them. He would learn to speak, sooner than anyone for sure, but still how long? She couldn't keep stringing either of them along, but she was in a holding pattern until the Doctor knew enough English to actually talk to her. 

But by the same token, she needed to let him know about her life. He needed to know where she was. As much as it hurt, she needed to let him in on what she did now. Not only with Andrew, but at Torchwood. The thought about showing him around, letting him meet her friends, see her world. But also that meant that he would have to meet Andrew too.  
Frustrated, she threw her pen at an empty bulletin board. It ricocheted off and landed in the bin. Next to her Rose's radio squawked to life. There was a disturbance in a wooded area about 10 kilos away. She sighed and heaved herself up. Time to go to work. At least the report could marinate a little longer. She slung her gear on her back and headed out to meet the team.

OoOoOoO

Across town the Doctor was miserable. Jackie had taken him to this world's version of Henrick’s. He had initially insisted on being measured for two new suits. Well, insisting was not exactly what had happening. He actually stopped by the suits and pointed saying, "Jackie...". He stood his ground until Jackie acquiesced and let him pick somethings out and get sized for them. 

Now he was knee deep in jeans and shirts. At least he was able to pick out ties to go with them. Initially the Doctor had been happy to see that Tony had been with them in the car, but then Jackie dropped him off with a friend. When they pulled up at his mate's house, Jackie had gotten out to talk to the mother. That, of course, led to gossip and the Doctor had gotten out too, watching the boys play. When it came time to leave, Tony hugged his mother quickly, then ran to the Doctor and grabbed his legs tightly. The Doctor lifted the boy to receive the rest of his embrace. "Are you coming back with Mum when you are done?" the boy asked. 

It took a moment for the Doctor to translate most of the sentence. All the while the boy was holding on tight. "Yes, I am coming back." the Doctor answered.   
"Good, hurry though!" Tony wiggled down and ran to his friend. 

Jackie had shot the Doctor a wide grin watching them. He knew that all she wanted was Rose to be happy. That is what any parent would want. He could tell though that she loved to see him with her son. Even though they had really just met, he had taken to the boy quickly. With him there was no judgement, no strife. Everything was on the surface and no one was hiding anything. He wished he and Rose were that way too. Just able to be themselves. He knew she would come around if they just had the chance to be the Doctor and Rose, like it had been before. 

"Here," Jackie said, jamming a pair of blue Converse into his hands, "try these on. We can get white ones too if these fit. Then we just have to pick out pants and socks and we're done." The Doctor complied, sighing. Clothes were a necessary evil, one more step towards his new normal. 

New clothes stuffed into the boot of the car, Jackie and the Doctor headed out to get Tony. Again the boy ran into the Doctor’s arms with a ferocious hug upon seeing him. It made the Doctor deliriously happy that someone could love so openly. He didn't know where he stood on any issue, especially with Rose. He didn't know where or how he would live. There had been some talk on the TARDIS about finding him something at Torchwood, but he had only seen Pete briefly since he got here let alone had he talked with him. He imagined that everyone was waiting for him to be able to talk before discussing his place in this world. All of it was disconcerting though. It was like not having a key to your own home. All you wanted to do was go in and get comfortable, but there was no way in as of yet. 

Upon arriving back at the Tyler mansion, Jackie unloaded all the Doctor's new things and Tony helped him haul it all to his room. Jackie disappeared quickly when her mobile rang. This time rather than talking loudly on it as usual she went to her room and closed the door. 

He hastily put his new things away and changed into now better fitting jeans and a shirt, using the same tie, all the while listening to Tony and beginning to banter back. His anxiety melted away with the boy. He looked like a little Pete clone, even down to the knowing smile. The topic of discussion this afternoon was what would happen if rubbish trucks flew. As usual Tony launched into his discussion and the Doctor assimilated for a few minutes until he got the gist of the words, then joined tentatively. 

They were in the hallway heading back to the playroom for Tony and for tea for the Doctor when Jackie opened her bedroom door. She looked flushed, like she may have been arguing. "Oh, hi Doctor.” She audibly sighed, like she didn’t want to say what was next. “I wanted to let you know that Rose is coming round later. She's bringing Andrew. She thinks that you two should meet. She doesn't want to have any secrets from you. Do you understand?"

The Doctor was momentarily stunned. She was bringing Andrew to the house? That's all he could glean from Jackie's words. Why would she do that? He knew that he would eventually have to meet him, especially if he worked at Torchwood. It just seemed too soon. 

He nodded, not wanting to make Jackie pantomime what he didn't get. He had had enough of it at the shop when she tried to demonstrate "pants."

Numbly he ambled into the kitchen to make his tea. He didn't know when to expect them, and at that very moment it felt as if the world was flying past him as he stood there trying to grasp at anything. Everything was swirling around him and he couldn't stop it. There was nothing yet he could hold onto. Why couldn’t it all just stop until he caught up? It wouldn’t be long. Standing by the kitchen table and looking out at the landscape again he couldn’t help feeling lost. He hadn’t realized he had been lost in thought until he felt a tugging on his sleeve. 

It was Tony. "Doctor, Mum says we have to wash our hands for tea. The Doctor looked at the boy, and then glanced back out the window. It had gone dark outside and he hadn't even noticed. The drink in his hand was now stone cold. He sniffed. Great smells were all around him. He turned; a little worried he would see Jackie cooking but instead he found an unfamiliar person there. 

"Who is that?" he asked Tony.

"Oh, that's Max, he cooks at nighttime." 

"Oh," the Doctor laughed, at least some things hadn't changed. She had done a decent fry up this morning, but dinner was something different all together.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OK, I had to throw you all a nugget. I thought the last chapter didn't take us far enough, so here is another one. This one has a glimmer of hope. I hope it helps.

Pete joined the Doctor, Jackie and Tony for the evening meal. Over lasagna he probed gently to see how the Doctor's language acquisition was going. He found it impressive that he was holding his own with the four-year-old next to him. He even got some of the silly jokes Tony told, but it was clear that he was still missing a lot. Still, it had been just over 24 hours since he had his words stolen. 

"So, Doctor, have you had a good day? Did you get clothes?" Pete asked.

"Yes, thank you. I need to give you ... money for them."

"No, no way. My treat. But you can work at Torchwood soon. I’d like to take you there tomorrow. Oh, and I got you something. Jackie told me you have been fixing all Tony’s toys. It’s a tool kit.” He indicated a large red metal box with a handle on the end of the counter. “I know there isn’t a sonic screwdriver, but it is full of all sorts of tools and bits to fix things with. I used to love to tinker before, well before. It’s yours if you want it."

“Thank you.” The Doctor hadn’t understood most of that but got enough to know that he now had a means to fix things. He mulled Pete's statement about Torchwood over for a few moments. He wanted to know what he would do at Torchwood, he could ask, but wasn't sure he would understand the answer. He finally just said, "I'll work soon."

The meal was nice and the food was marvelous. Mostly the Doctor just listened as Jackie and Pete talked; it was easier to pick up language parts that way. His common vocabulary was getting better just by listening. He was still a little embarrassed to speak, other than to Tony of course. It hurt to think that just 24 hours ago he had been eloquent and now he was nearly mute. His anxiety went up measurably every time he had to say something, worried that he would get the verb wrong, and he had only a few adjectives to use. Plus, pronouns were an entirely different issue. 

As they were clearing their plates the Doctor turned to Jackie. “Is Rose coming?” He had thought she was coming for dinner and was worried that dealing with meeting Andrew would make him lose his appetite. Having to keep up his calorie intake was another entirely new thing. His body was not nearly as efficient as it used to be. Most likely it was more so than common humans, but still it took more maintenance than he was used to. 

Jackie glanced to Pete in response. “Yes love, she’ll be here soon.” They both smiled at him. Suddenly he felt very uncomfortable. They both wore sympathetic smiles. If he read them right, things were going to get complicated. He was currently not equipped to fight for Rose as he would like. He knew that if nothing else he had to show her that he was the same, plant that seed, and then wait for the words to come. Hopefully she would be patient. 

Pete spoke up, “Doctor, why don't you come with me into the living room. We'll wait for them. Max made cake and we'll have it in there." He motioned for him to follow.  
"Oh good, cake," the Doctor responded, as if cake would make the awkward situation any less so.  
  
When he sat on the large comfortable couch Pete handed him an amber colored drink in a heavy crystal class. The Doctor sniffed it. Whiskey... not his favorite. He took a tentative sip, feeling Pete's eyes on him. The liquid burned all the way down and had an instant warming effect. Pete smiled, "I figured you may need a little help dealing with all this.”

The Doctor nodded. "It's a lot, but I just got here."

"I know, but I have to say something before they arrive. I know you are picking up a lot of English, it's amazing really, but please let me know if you don't get something OK?"

"OK."

Pete leaned back, crossed his legs and took a sip of his own drink. "Doctor, you have to know that Andrew is a good man. He takes good care of Rose." The Doctor nodded and cast his eyes down to his feet. Just knowing that Rose was coming has already increased his pulse, but now talk of Andrew only intensified it. He looked back to Pete. 

"You have to realize that I have no preference..." Pete continued, then reading confusion from his counterpart, rephrased. “I don't like him more than you."

"I know... Rose needs time. It's um... too little time to..."

"To choose?" Pete interjected. 

"Yes, thank you. This is hard. I can't um...tell Rose...I am me."

"You mean you can't explain yourself properly yet? Doctor, you've been here now just over 24 hours. I can't believe you are doing as well as you are. It's amazing."

"I guess a lot," he responded with a shy smile. 

Pete smiled back, at the same time trying to quash the fact that the man he had met had been so confident, like he had the world in the palm of his hand. The man before him now looked broken, defeated, hanging by a thread. "But you are getting more by the minute. It'll come; I bet you'll be fine in a week's time. That's just seven days."

"Thanks, see it's the little things, I just don't know."

"You'll be fine," Pete assured him. They both looked up as the front door opened and Rose walked cautiously in. 

She looked at them as they stood to greet her. The Doctor put his drink down on a side table and came over to her. He really wanted a hug but settled for a "Hi Rose" and a little wave. 

"Hi Doctor," she countered with a shy smile. She opened the door a little wider to reveal the man standing there. "This is Andrew, Andrew this is the Doctor.” They both shook hands, but it was obvious to everyone, including Jackie, who had come up from behind, that there was sizing up being done by both parties. Now standing next to each other the differences were apparent. Andrew was about the same height as the Doctor, but wider in the shoulders. His hair was much more tamed than the Doctor's, whose hair looked a little long and floppy on his head. Rose noticed that he had still not yet been able to get hair products. She also noticed just how slim he looked in his new clothes. It wasn't possible, but he looked like he had lost weight since she saw him last. Maybe it just was that his frame was smaller in comparison to the much more muscular Andrew. 

"Shall we go sit?" Pete asked, breaking the moment. 

Relieved, Rose followed him. The Doctor took his seat back on the couch with Jackie next to him and Pete on the end. Rose and Andrew took the two chairs rather than the love seat that faced the couch. The Doctor was grateful for this, he didn't know if he could have handled them sitting next to one another, at least not yet. 

Rose was the first to speak, "So how is the English learning going? Mum says you are doing fantastically."

The irony of her choice of words was not lost on her. She visibly cringed, hoping it wasn't a word he had learned yet... It was. 

He forced a smile. "It's better. Tony helps. We talk about trucks... a lot." They all laughed at that. 

"And you got new clothes. I like them. You let Mum get jeans?"

He looked down at his attire. "Yes, but also...um…" He looked to Jackie.

"He got two suits too. They’ll be done tomorrow." Jackie piped up.

"For work," he finished. "I want to work soon."

Andrew made a little noise. "Doctor what specifically will you be employed to do at Torchwood?"

Rose shot him a warning look. Andrew had certainly just thrown down the gauntlet. It was unfair though, at least right now. The Doctor only got part of the question, namely the "to do" part. Andrew glanced back at Rose letting her know that he knew exactly what he was doing. 

The Doctor started to answer, "I..."

Pete jumped in, "I will have him working at identifying alien artifacts. That is a tremendously dangerous job for anyone other than him. We've not discussed it as of yet though. I wanted him to get more comfortable with all this before he started." His eyes were set on Andrew and it was clear that he was none too happy with the challenge being set in front of him. One of the competitors, while very apt and super intelligent, was currently unarmed. 

The tension in the room was palpable. Rose suddenly was very sorry for setting up the meeting. She had argued for it, her mother had not wanted it. Rose wanted complete disclosure though. She felt it was unfair to both men to not be familiar with the other. It was her choice to make, but all participants needed to know where they stood. In addition, she needed to see them next to each other. Both of them had so much to give, but she only saw one at a time. Now she was second guessing her logic. If they ended in a fist fight it would be her fault and she would be no closer to figuring out her situation. 

Thankfully Tony came tearing into the room at that moment and skidded to a stop. "Oh, hi Rose!" He hugged his sister. Then he turned and scanned the room. "What are you all doing here?"

"Andrew is here to meet the Doctor."

"Oh," he said, clearly not entirely interested. He turned and walked over to the couch. It looked like he would sit between his parents, but instead he crawled up onto the Doctor's lap. Rose couldn't help but smile. Her brother had taken to the Doctor, and he had only known him for not even a day. The Doctor, in turn, absentmindedly loosely draped his arms around the boy, much like a parent would do. That hit Rose like an arrow to the heart. He was a parent, or the other him was… maybe this one? It was still so hard to fathom. On top of the tension she felt about the men in the room, not the other thought, the one about if he was truly the Doctor reared its ugly head. 

Jackie had started the conversation again. She was asking Andrew about what brought him to Torchwood. Soon stories started between he and Pete. The Doctor struggled to keep up now that the words involved species he hadn’t heard of or that had different names here. Andrew had a quite big vocabulary, which he had no problem using. That angered the Doctor, as it was an obvious attempt to make him look stupid in front of Rose. Instead of fuming though, he used it, adding new words that he would look up and later use. 

After a little while, Max came in with cake for everyone and Pete handed out drinks to Rose, Jackie and Andrew. The Doctor hadn’t been particularly interested in his. He had no idea how this body would react to alcohol, and this was not the time to try it out, so he opted to leave his on the table. He sat quietly as Rose recounted the story of them saving the universe. She referred to him off and on, but he didn’t add much. The group loosened though with the drinks and cake. The Doctor thought it would have normally been called a great evening if he wasn’t so uncomfortable. He loved seeing Rose though, and how she lit up telling about her adventures. It was odd though, how she referred to him. Sometimes she looked at him but other times, when she was telling about older times, she didn’t. It was like she was talking about separate people. 

Andrew calmed down too. He told stories about things that happened to him and Rose. He had a good sense of humor from what the Doctor could pick up. He looked at Rose with admiration too and frequently differed to her to finish a story or provide her point of view.

Several drinks later, when things were winding down, Pete stood and asked if he could speak to Andrew about a case and they headed to Pete’s office. Jackie then corralled Tony and led him upstairs. 

Rose and the Doctor stood alone in the room. The last time they had been alone she had told him about Andrew. They turned to face each other and the tension again was palpable. The Doctor was speechless. Not for a lack of words, but just not knowing what to say. Now the man who didn’t know when to stop had nowhere to begin. 

Rose spoke first. “Doctor, I’m sorry for this. I wanted you to meet him so that everything was in the open. I’m sorry he was being a git. He’s actually very nice.” She twirled a piece of hair in her fingers nervously. 

The Doctor mulled over what she said, realizing he got most of it; at least her intentions were clear. “I’m not mad Rose. I talked to Pete. It’s just hard. I don’t know what to say. Not yet.”

“I know.” She rested a hand on his shoulder. At that moment Tony ran into the room. He almost made it past both of them when the Doctor scooped him up and tossed him over his shoulder, to which the boy squealed. Jackie came in next, face flushed. 

“Anthony Tyler, do not run away from me. It’s time for your bath.”

“No!” the boy screamed. 

Rose looked at the Doctor. “He hates bath time.”

“Really?” the Doctor asked, setting Tony down but keeping a grip on him. “Tony, do you have cars that go in the water?” 

Tony shook his head no. “I have boats, but they're boring.”

The Doctor knelt down eye level to Tony. “If you go to the bath I will …fix you a car that… goes in water. OK?”

“You mean it floats?” 

“Yes, floats but is a car.”

“Wow! Ok!!” He flung his arms around the Doctor then ran back upstairs, shedding clothes along the way. Jackie jogged after, wearily picking up garments as she went. 

"A car that goes in water?" Rose asked him, raising an eyebrow.

The Doctor smiled broadly at her. "If it gets him to take a bath, I will do it."

Rose beamed at him and he mirrored her. They both stood there for a second, wrapped in the moment. Both just happy to be there, when Andrew’s voice came from the office.

“Rose, could you join us?” 

“Yeah!” she called back dragging her eyes from the Doctor and turning her head.

As she did that, Tony’s voice came down from upstairs. “Hurry Doctor!”

They both looked at each other and shrugged in unison, going their separate ways, each frowning as soon as they were turned away. They had had a moment. A Doctor and Rose moment. Though fleeting, they recognized it, and even given the current situation, it felt good for both of them.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another moment, are they moving closer?

The Doctor got the new, he considered borrowed, toolbox and went to Tony’s toy box to choose the pieces he needed. When he inspected the tools he was pleasantly surprised to see that there were bits of metal and various things that must have been left over from projects. They were exactly what he needed. He made quick work of merging a little boat and a little car together, just in time to deliver them to Tony. He made it so the car drove into the boat and hooked into the little propeller. It was ingenious really, it would have been a popular toy should it have been sold in stores. He smiled to himself and delivered it to him. 

Tony insisted that he stay and watch him play. Jackie was thankful that he agreed, needing some time to herself. The Doctor was happy to watch the enthusiastic boy play in the bath, but really wanted to be downstairs in the midst of the Torchwood talk. That would be the most beneficial to him, though he probably wouldn’t comprehend the majority of it. But he hadn’t been invited in and honestly that stung. He and Rose had been a team and now he suddenly wasn’t on it anymore. He had sworn to protect her, but now he was forced onto the sidelines. He kept repeating in his head that he needed time, just to assimilate. Soon he would be able to keep up, hopefully it would be soon enough. 

After the bath, Tony got dressed in his jim jams and the Doctor was combing the boy’s hair when he heard the front door to the mansion open and close. He hadn’t heard anything before, like voices, but Tony had been loud when he was in the tub and they had just opened the door to the bathroom to let out the steam. He felt yet another blow. Rose had left without saying goodbye. Hadn't they just had a moment? Did that mean nothing? Did she value him so little that she couldn’t make the time to at least bid him goodnight? It seemed that perhaps her choice was made. His already abused heart took yet another hit. 

Then there was the issue of Andrew. Even though he had initially come out swinging, he had warmed, and the Doctor had seen how he had looked at Rose. Of course, he had wanted to defend his honor, who wouldn’t? If the Doctor could have, he would have also. 

But he thought of something also. He had been so focused on his feelings, but the other element, Rose, had to be struggling. He had seen her cry and knew she was conflicted. 

But he hadn’t considered what he could do for her. It wasn’t fair that everyone was treating him so nice, careful not to hurt him, when Rose was hurting too. The smart thing, though also the thing that was the most painful, was to let her have some slack. She needed the ability to search her soul and decide. He wanted her to pick him, he wanted for her to be with him forever, but he had stepped literally into a different world and now had a different Rose, one who had loved for over five years without him. The pressure on her must be intense. With that he decided, he needed to give her a break. Maybe saying goodbye to him was too much for her. It didn't hurt any less to think this, but maybe there was a reason. He sighed again, running his hand though his hair. There was nothing he could do now. But the inevitable effect of the loss of Rose had a familiar effect on him. He couldn't help it. The deep sense of longing, fear, anger and frustration quickly welled up again. 

Tony hopped down off his stool at the sink after brushing his teeth. He had not stopped talking since the Doctor had initially joined him. “Come on! I’ll read you a bedtime story!” he said, hopping on one leg, for no particular reason, into his room. Again, like magic, the horrible thoughts waned, slowing vanishing as he watched the boy make his way into his bedroom.   
The Doctor grinned. Tony had done it again. There was something about his universal acceptance of the new situation that allowed the Doctor to see the world again. Had he not had him as a distraction, he was not sure that he would have been able to hold on. He also reminded him of his own children, but he wasn’t sure if that situation was made better or worse with Tony. The loneliness of not having Rose felt like a gaping cave in his soul, but at least there was a bright light somewhere in there to help guide him through. 

But the anger and frustration that had driven him outside to the tree the night before had not dissipated. In the light of day, he was able to quash it, but as this day had gone on, it was harder to tamp down. As he grew tired, another annoying part of this body, he could see how humans became cranky as the day ended. It was harder to control his emotions. He as mad that Rose left without saying anything, he was mad that she felt like he needed to meet Andrew. There was a lot to be mad about, and that didn’t even touch the fact that he had been dumped there. That was a matter that he would have to work through too. But he took a breath. Tony was calling for him. 

Following him into his room, the Doctor had a seat on the bed, still breathing a little fast. Without even noticing the Doctor’s pain, Tony produced a book, then insisted on the Doctor sitting with this back to the headboard with Tony snuggled up next to him. The effect was instant. His anger dissipated again as the boy held the huge book out to him. 

The book he chose had little furry animals driving zeppelins and having some sort of party. Tony yammered on and on, and the Doctor suspected he was just making it up as he went, considering the small amount of words on the page compared to the lengthy explanations that were happening. He was starting to read certain words and be able to sound things out, thanks to Tony’s TV programs. As soon as he had most of the word sounds down, he could maybe get a hold of a dictionary then that would really change things up. 

After about fifteen minutes of “reading” Tony began to slow down and get noticeably heavier leaning on the Doctor’s shoulder. At that point the Doctor had taken over some of the reading, mainly pointing to the things he knew and trying to make silly remarks. Soon the boy silenced and his breathing evened out. The Doctor set him back on the pillow and pulled up the duvet over him. He gently sat the book on the toy box and backed quietly out of the room, making sure he didn’t wake him up. He was taking one last look then closing the door when he felt a hand on his shoulder and jumped. ”OH!” he exclaimed, a little louder than he should have. 

Rose laughed. ”It’s just me, Mr. Jumpy!”

They both peered into the room, but Tony was still asleep. The Doctor closed the door, facing her, relief on this face. “I thought you went home. The door shut.”

Rose was momentarily confused. “Oh you mean you heard the door. No, Andrew went out to his car to get something.”

“His car?”

“Yes, we drove two cars here.”

“OK,” he answered. He didn’t know what to make of her statement. Rose was smiling at him though. 

“Doctor, I’m impressed with how you are with my brother. I thought you didn’t do domestics.”

“Domestics?” He raised his eyebrows. 

Rose realized again that he was still missing most of the conversation. “I mean like families. Home life. Do you get what I mean?”

“Yeah,” he said quietly. “He is like my own…”

“Children?” 

“Yes.”

They stood there awkwardly for a moment. Finally Rose couldn’t stand it any longer. “Are you all settled in, I mean do you have what you need?”

“Yes, thank you.” His politeness was disconcerting to Rose. In the absence of more words, he sounded distant, like how one may address someone behind the counter of a shop; nice, but not engaging. She truly missed his gob. 

“But what about your hair? Do you want some product?” She put her hands in his hair and tried to fluff it up. 

He closed his eyes at the feeling. How he had missed her touch. They used to touch all the time. A hand hold here, a tickle there and lots of hugs. The difference was torture.   
She stopped suddenly and took her hands down. That’s when the Doctor realized he had closed his eyes. Instantly reddening, he figured that his reaction to her must have gone too far. He also remembered that he hadn’t answered her. “Oh yes please. Jackie hasn’t…”

“I know, I’ll get you some tomorrow.” 

“You can take me,” he said, smiling again. Now she blushed. 

“Anything to get out of the house huh?”

It took him a moment to process what she said. “Yes, I need to go out.”

Rose motioned for him to follow and had a seat on the grand staircase, patting the carpet next to her for him to sit. He did. He wanted nothing more than to take her hand at that moment, but she had them clasped around her legs. She looked up. “Doctor I... I want you to know some things.”

He held up his hand. ”Rose, wait. I need you to know. Andrew is OK. He is nice and he likes you. I like him. If you want… to be…”

“Oh no you don’t!”

“Rose…”he challenged.

“Nope… no way. Not now.”

He turned to fully face her and took her hands in his. “Please Rose, I need to talk. I have been gone… for a long time. You did good, you kept going. I understand. You need time. You don’t see… I am me. I know that too. I can wait. I will wait.” His deep brown eyes were shining and he wore a sad smile. 

She couldn’t believe it, he was letting her go. If not that, he was giving her the ability to do what she needed. He basically just gave her his blessing to do what she wanted, and it hurt. “No Doctor. I …” she dissolved into tears. She had told herself she wasn’t going to do that again. She felt his hands leave hers and go around her back, pulling her close.   
He repeated himself whispering, ”You need time.” He held her now, he could smell her hair. She used different shampoo now but she still smelled the same, sweet and warm. 

He knew he had to let her go, at least for now. It was unfair to him to string her along. He couldn’t just expect her to wait for him. He wasn’t whole. He felt like he was floating out in space, not anchored to anything. He didn’t have a place in this world, at least not yet. He would be able to make a life for himself but needed to do it. At his current rate in a week he would have decent enough language to maybe start his job. Then he needed a place to live. If he was going to do it, he would do it right. He needed to prove to Rose that he had it in him to be there for her. At least he had a plan. Plans were good. 

Movement at the bottom of the stairs made them break their embrace, Rose hastily wiping her eyes. She whispered, ”I’m not done with you Doctor.” Then she reached over, squeezed his hand briefly then stood and walked down the stairs to meet up with Andrew and Pete.

“Well I have an early shift, actually you do too Rose,” Andrew said, eyeing the pair descending the stairs  
.   
“I know. I’ll see you later dad.” She leaned in for a hug with Pete. She turned to the Doctor and hugged him again, this time it was much shorter.   
“Bye Rose,” he said quietly. Then he stuck out his hand to Andrew.

“It was nice to meet you Doctor,” Andrew said shaking his hand. 

“It was nice to meet you too,” replied the Doctor, happy to have been given something to parrot. 

Rose and Andrew then both turned for the door. Andrew held it open for her but she stalled, her back to the Doctor. She turned around about half way and smiled, giving the Doctor a little wave. Andrew’s eyebrows shot up and he seemed to grip the door a little harder, but he said nothing. 

A second later the door was shut and they were gone. The night had been a confusing one, but she had just given him the slightest glimmer of hope. But still his mind raced. Left to his thoughts without distraction, everything came bubbling back up. He was surprised at how quickly he reached his boiling point. He needed a release an it only took him a few seconds to decide what to do. He stole two tea towels from the kitchen before sneaking out to visit the tree from the night before. No one heard him as he went at it, the tension of the day being released to the stars. Every hit meant something new. He was dying to express himself, all he wanted to do was be able to mount an argument. He knew it would be soon, but he wanted it now! Even though he and Andrew had played nice in the end, the tension of the initial meeting came out in a fury too. 

An hour later, the Doctor gathered himself and walked back to the mansion. What he didn’t see though, was that he was being watched. Pete stood in his bedroom window, having received a call from his security team. 

Jackie came up behind him, wrapping her arms around him. “Should I talk to him?’ she asked.

“No, let him work through things on his own. I can’t even imagine what he’s going through. I mean I’ve had over five years to assimilate. But sometimes it still baffles me. I have a wife that looks like my other one but is a completely different person, I have a daughter that I never had before, and now a son. It’s the stuff stories are made of, not real lives. But we have to let him work through it. I told my team to keep monitoring him, but now to act on it unless there was trouble. He just needs an outlet. I mean it seems violent, and I'm not going to say it doesn't worry me, but if that's his coping mechanism I think we need to let him have it. He's lost everything, even his identity. But he even manages to keep it together for us. But I bet the alone time is hard. Let's give him time and see if he doesn't come around. I can have him see the psychologists at Torchwood, but he has to be able to express himself first."

"That poor tree," Jackie said quietly.

"It could be worse."

"I know," she sighed, "I just wish he has something to do . He was so... I don't know... Vital before. I know you'll have him at Torchwood, but until he gets enough words... He's kind of stuck. That can't be healthy for him. What can we do to help him?

Pete turned to Jackie. "I think we need to make him feel important. He already is, he's become the center of Tony's universe, but I have a few things I can haul out to let him work on something. It may help. But as far as you, maybe work with him? Sit with him and really work. Words, phases. He's very intelligent, he'll get it quickly. Heck, even in the time he was sitting with all of us in the living room he was metabolizing things. I think if you spend time with him he'll make strides. "

"I'll start tomorrow, she said. 

"Me too," Pete answered.   
OoOoOo  
When The Doctor climbed back up to his room he took a long shower, during which he realized just knackered he was. This body needed rest, just one more thing for him to have to get used to. Plus not sleeping much the night before was taking its toll. He went into his room and eyed the TARDIS coral. As soon as he could get to a lab and ask for the right things, he would begin to grow it. It would be very soon. Maybe that would be the thing that he could prove to Rose that he was him. But that also seemed a long way off. For now he ached all over. He needed to sleep.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry Iv'e been negligent. I've been trying to upload twice a week, clearly that hadn't happened. But here is a HUGE chapter with all kinds of fun in it. Hopefully you will take this as a peace offering.

The next morning dawned bright, the light streaming in through his window. He heard Tony tearing around and got dressed, following the chaos until he ended up in the kitchen. Jackie greeted him with a overly cheery, "Well there you are!" Leaving the Doctor to wonder if she knew something he didn't. Then he saw it. Next to his plate was a few plasters and some antibiotic gel. She knew about his nighttime activity. He pocketed them without a word. The damage hadn't been as bad the night before, mostly thanks to the tea towels. But the pain was part of it. He clearly still have the strong bones of a Time Lord, so nothing was breaking. But each hit, the pain of which was terrible, chipped away at the pain in his head. Such a strong reaction would not be appropriate around others but taking it out on the tree, well any inanimate object would work, allowed for the free flow of his feelings. He did wonder though, what would break down first, the tree or his hands. Unfortunately, given the bruising he currently had, he thought he may know the answer. 

Tony finally landed across from him, hauled in by his mother in a huff. "It's time for you to sit and eat young man, now get to it!" Jackie scolded. 

Tony frowned, but only for a moment when his eyes met the Doctor. "Oh hi Doctor! Dad said he left a project for us in the garage. He didn't tell me what it was and Mum won't let me look. Can we go out and look?"

The Doctor smiled. "Yes, after you eat." He looked up to an approving smile from Jackie, who joined them with her coffee. 

"Sleep well then?" she asked, eyeing him.

"I did, thank you, I was more....um..."

"Tired?" she suggested miming a yawn.

"Yes, more tired than I thought."

She nodded, and so began a breakfast conversation in which she gently filled in blanks in his vocabulary. The old him, the fast thinking, ready for anything one, would have hated what transpired over the next hour. But now he sat, having polite conversation with Jackie, letting her help him understand parts of basic conversation. Tony had gone to watch tome telly, at the insistence of his mother as he kept interrupting them. 

"Anthony Tyler, if I hear another word out of your little mouth I'll have you in time out. Now go play. I will let you have the Doctor when I am done with him!" After that he slunk off. 

The teaching method was interesting to say the least. Jackie drew pictures on stray pieces of paper, helped with grammar and introduced words. For what he knew of Jackie, he was stunned to see this calm, helping nature. She wasn't brash or hurried, just there with him, helping. It turned out to be the most productive hour of his existence so far. 

Out of his peripheral vision The Doctor could see Tony edging up. He smiled a half smile and looked back at Jackie. "Thank you. This has been very good for me. But I think that Tony needs me now."

Jackie patted his shoulder. "It's fine. I have things to do. And you watching him allows me to do them. So it's payback I suppose. If you go outside into the garage there is something under the tarp that Pete pulled out for you. I don't know how old it is, but he said it would give you something to do."

The Doctor thanked her again and walked alongside a positively bouncing Tony outside into the garage. The room was expansive, easily fitting four cars with room around the edges for storage and Tony's toys. In the middle of one of the unused spaces for a vehicle there was something covered in a grey tarp. Tony ran to it, the Doctor right on his heels. 

Together they lifted the tarp and whipped it off to the side. Tony gasped. "What is it?" he asked, looking up at the Doctor. 

The Doctor knew exactly what it was, but had no name for it. In front of him was the frame of a small car. Its engine and most of the mechanisms were in pieces. Most covered in dust, and everything was dirty. The Doctor's eyes widened. "It's like a car, but little," he said, kneeling down and taking a piece in his hands. 

"It's a go-cart," came Jackie's voice behind him. She walked up to them. "Tony, it's a little car, like the Doctor said, but it's for you two to ride in. Your dad had it lying around for years, long before me... Well, I mean this... Anyway.... I had no idea. He said he bought if on a whim to ride around the grounds for fun, but never got to it. He thought that maybe you would like to work on something." She looked up at him carefully. 

The grin on the Doctor's face made any anxiety she had about if all melt away. "Thank you, and thank Pete. This is a good gift," he said, turning back. 

"Well, the tool bench is over there, Pete says you can use what ever you need. I'll come get you for lunch. Have fun boys!" With that she left them, but the excited chattering followed her back into the house. 

OoOoOo

Rose's shift was relatively uneventful. No callouts, just reviewing CCTV of a possible sighting. Andrew was subbing on anther team for the day and his another team were called out to a possible crash site. When they called back saying that it was indeed a crash and they had found an alien at the site. But with the two teams on it, and security and containment crews on the way, her team wasn't called to the scene. He did send in pictures though, and everyone took in the scene, including taking guesses on the species of the alien found. It was alive, and huge, though it seemed docile. They contained it fairly easily. 

After hours of chasing shadows while reviewing their assigned videos, Rose and her team determined that there wasn't a threat and the team was sent home. Andrew was still on the scene and would be for hours and Rose wished she had gotten that assignment, it looked interesting. But on second thought, she had something to do. So, with her team still on call, just in case, Rose headed out of Torchwood. 

There was a strange thing that had developed between Rose and Andrew. They talked about a lot, they talked constantly, but they didn't talk about the Doctor. Not at all. It was like they decided that it was a non-touchable issue. After leaving the mansion after he met the Doctor, Andrew didn't say another word. Rose would have loved to know what he thought, but he said nothing. And Rose let it happen. She was tired of it all, not in a bad way, not like she was giving up, but like she had heard so much about it that having it not discussed was relaxing. It wasn't like her mind wasn't constantly going over every little detail in her head though. 

It was just before lunch when she phoned her mother. She didn't have anything else to do for the day, she was on call, but didn't have to be at Torchwood. She wanted to come to the mansion again to see the Doctor, this time alone. 

Rose pulled up to the house near the garage. The large doors were open and when she got out she could hear excited jabbering. At first she thought it was her brother, but then she listened harder and felt warm all over. There was a second voice. It was the Doctor's and he was talking right along with Tony. 

"I think I have it!" he exclaimed. "Just put that one here, no right here." There was a pause and Rose figured Tony was placing something. She peeked around the corner. The Doctor was kneeling on the floor, Tony right next to him. They were putting a frame together of some little vehicle. 

The chatter continued. It wasn't in the halting tones she had heard the night before, but much more natural. Her heart warmed. He looked calm even though clearly excited. He maybe just looked happy? At that moment, he looked like... Him. For all intents and purposes, the man in front of her was the Doctor. But it couldn't be. He had left. 

Rose frowned. She was no further in getting through this than she had been the day before. The tangled web surrounding him hadn't changed at all. She still didn't know who he was. Not like a night's sleep would change that. But she did wonder what would change it, and how long it would take. 

She watched them quietly for a moment more. They were so entrenched into their work that neither was paying any attention to their surroundings. She loved to hear him talk and could have done so all day. But she also knew that wouldn't work.

She stepped into the garage. "Hi boys, what have you got there?" she asked. 

Both Tony and the Doctor spun around. 

Tony ran to his sister and jumped up and down, telling her everything that was happening. "And the Doctor says he can drive me around when it is finished, and then when I am older I can drive it too!" He was even out of breath telling her everything. 

Rose tousled his hair while advancing. The Doctor had since stood and was cleaning his hands on a rag. 

"Good Morning Rose," he said with a small smile,"I thought you had work."

Rose's face lit up hearing him talk. Her grin made his widen. He didn't have the tone he had while talking to her brother, like uncertainty had crept in, but he spoke clearly. She momentarily wished he had sounded the same, she didn't want him, to be embarrassed to speak to her. 

"Oh, they still could call, but I'm off for now. I wanted to know if you fancied some lunch?"

Before he could answer, Jackie came out of the house, brightening at seeing her daughter. "Perfect timing!" she exclaimed, "Tony it's time for you to wash up and get ready for lunch. Would you like to stay here or are you taking him Rose?"

Rose turned to the Doctor. "Do you want to come with me?" she asked. 

The Doctor grinned again. "I need to wash my hands, but yes." He looked down at his t-shirt, and Rose realized she had never had seen him in something so casual before. It suited him well. The shirt was covered with dust. "I need a new shirt too."

"Well hurry up then, I figure I can get you some hair products too. Now shift, I'll wait for you in the kitchen."

The Doctor gave her a look she couldn't decipher, but still looked happy and turned to go.

Rose waited in the kitchen with her mother, Jackie filling her in on the morning's activities. "I really worked with him this morning. I mean he's a sponge, isn't he? I worked with him on grammar and just words I suppose. He's sounding much better."

Rose winced a little at the thought of her mother teaching him grammar. It hadn't ever been her strong suit. But she had improved while being around Pete. She did have standards to uphold now being his wife. 

There was movement behind her and she turned to see the Doctor, new t-shirt on. This time she took her time to get a good look at him. He wore jeans now that still had the crisp look of being fresh off the rack. The shirt fit well. It was exactly the same as the other, but now blue. It was clearly out of one of those shirt packages. She made a promise then and there to take him out for a few things that suited him better. That thought brought her to the thought about his suits. When would they get there, and could she stand seeing him in them? 

"Rose?" came the Doctor's voice. "Is something wrong?" Her eyes found his and he wore a concerned expression. 

She blushed. "No, I mean, I'm good, just thinking. Are you ready to go?"

He held up a pair of new red chucks. "Just one minute." He sat down in a chair and put on his shoes allowing her to get lost in thought again watching him. He looked so natural. So normal. She could watch him all day. All too soon he looked up, grin firmly in place. "Shall we?"

Rose couldn't help but break into a huge tongue touched smile. "You sound so good. Your third morning here and you sound like you're native."

He gave her a self conscious smile, but no answer. She did notice the tips of his ears redden. Well there it was. He was still embarrassed. 

"Well come on then, I'm hungry!" She said, not letting him know that she noticed. She reached for his arm and slid her hand into his, just like they had done hundreds of times before. But this time he visibly flinched and withdrew his hand. 

It dawned on her. "Is your hand still hurt?" She heard Jackie do a sharp intake of air and the Doctor's eyes shot to hers. 

"It's nothing, " he said, putting his hand behind his back. His expression had hardened considerably. The room suddenly had an air of awkwardness to it. But before Jackie said anything, the Doctor was on his feet. His face changed quickly back to one of lightness. "I'm hungry too."

Shaking her head ever so slightly, Rose motioned for the door. "After you." He went out the door and she shot a look back to her mother who gave her a wan smile. 

"It'll be OK," Jackie whispered. 

Rose took a breath and followed the Doctor.

OoOoOo

Outside the Doctor was waiting by Rose's car, clearly examining it. When he saw her approaching, he let out a low whistle. "This is nice." His hands ran over the bright blue shine of the little sports car. It was TARDIS blue in fact. He stooped to look inside it as she came up behind him. 

"Yeah, it was a present to myself. When I stared looking for ...you..." She noticed him stiffen."I uh, had a few kind of bad jumps. I was driving by the dealership and it just called out to me. So I got it. It reminded me of-"

"The TARDIS," he breathed. Then he turned to her abruptly. "Can I-" he started, but ended when he didn't have the word.

She puzzled for a second and was about to answer when his face lit again. "Drive it!" he announced proudly. "Tony said that earlier. Can I drive it?"

Rose bubbled out a laugh. "No way, you haven't a driver's license. Nor have you any knowledge of the driving laws here. How about I drive you around at first." His shoulders slumped a little. Without thinking she held out her hand and laid it on his arm. "Doctor, it will all come in time. You need to slow down. You've only just got here."

He swallowed. "I never go slow. I don't like it."

"You're on the slow path now. Like me. You'll get used to it." She squeezed his arm a moment then let her arm drop and looked up at him again. Her eyes held his for a few moments. Those deep brown eyes looked so lonely. But only for a second. He blinked and looked away, clearing is throat. 

Rose, now knowing what else to say, got in the car and he followed. When they were buckled in she looked at him again. "Ready?" she asked. 

He nodded and she started the car. 

OoOoOo

Very quickly the Doctor realized how fun the little car was. Rose pushed the speed on the open road an he could feel the tight steering and how responsive it was. He also could see that she was showing off a little. That improved his mood tremendously. When he realized the she had bought a car that was TARDIS blue, it hit him directly in the heart. Then her mention of the slow path was another blow. How in the world could he slow down? And Rose going to be there for him? 

He was still not confident to converse with her either. He longed for the easy conversation they had. He was getting more and assimilating everything he came across but still got hung up frequently. He knew it would come in time. But not soon enough. 

He sat in silence, letting Rose play the radio. He listened for a moment, then his head shot up. At the announcement of the next song and the first few notes. "They have the Beatles here?"

She laughed. "Yup, but it's weird. They had John, Paul, George and Steve. No Ringo. So the drumming is a little different, I think." She mimed drumming and he nodded. "It took some getting used to."

He chuckled. "I can hear it. Steve isn't as good as Ringo." 

Rose laughed back. So began a nice conversation about differences she had found. She was careful with word choices and also helped him with vocabulary. Soon he relaxed and just enjoyed the ride. It finally felt right. Just the Doctor and Rose, in the little TARDIS car.   
OoOoOo

Rose pulled into a little chippy attached to the end of a strip mall. She turned and smiled at him. 

"Chips?" she asked.

He looked at her, a question on his face. Then he saw the pictures in the shop windows and a grin spread across his face. 

"Chips," he answered,"like our first-" he stopped.

"Our first date," she finished, occupying herself with undoing her seatbelt and opening the door. 

No matter her trying to hide it, he heard it. The little crack in her voice. 

By the time he got out and joined her she has recovered and now wore a cheery smile. She took him in and helped him order. The man at the counter gave her a warm welcome. She ordered. fish and chips for both of them. She had chose a Vitex drink for them both and sat down with him at a high table. Soon she went up and retrieved their food. 

Like usual she put a generous amount of malted vinegar on hers. He used a lighter hand on his, but soon took a chip in his mouth. Then he grimaced. "They're different. I don't like it."

Rose giggled. "You get used to it. The potatoes are a little different, maybe the oil. But the fish is brilliant, try it."

He did, and was pleasantly surprised. "OK, this is good." He looked around the shop. 

"You can just go out? Doesn't everyone know the Vitex..." he stopped, again without the word. 

"Heiress?" 

He shrugged, having no reference. 

"Like daughter if the king?"

He nodded lightly. "Your mum said something about you not going out much."

"I have to be careful. You know how people like to talk. Well about a year ago had to come here with Torchwood. and I found a particularly nasty little thing here that was causing fires. When I was bagging it up I got recognized. But the chap at the counter now, he was here he didn't want the bad press about the thing having built a nest here. He promised this would be a safe place for me to come if no one heard about the incident. So I'm safe here."

The Doctor nodded again, but Rose wondered how much he got, though he seemed to be following. 

"How much do you go out and find things?" he asked. Well apparently he had gotten a fair amount of it. 

"Well, I work about 3 to 5 shifts a week, depending on the hours. Even before, when I was working on the cannon, my father would only have me make one jump a week. So a lot I guess."

"And no one cares that you are the Vitex...heiress?"

"No, I'm usually wearing a hood that goes over my head and covers most of my face. But when I was here I got some... Well I had to take off my hood and he saw me. But this is normally what I look like." She pulled out her phone and showed him a picture of her team. Of course they could have been any four individuals. They all had matching fatigues, knee and elbow pads, hoods, helmets and goggles. 

"Which is you?" he asked.

"That one," she indicated the shortest of them.

He quirked a smile. "Look at you go," he said. 

She nodded into her chips. But much to her surprise, felt his hand snake up tp find hers for a brief squeeze then retreat. 

What followed was more conversation. Light and fun. Soon they found themselves in a Tesco type place and Rose was helping him choose hair products. 

"Ohh I like how this smells," she said after screwing the top off of one of them. She handed it to him. 

"I like it too, " he said examining it. 

"STOP!" she said with a giggle. 

"What?" he asked incredulously. 

"I saw your tongue creeping out. You can't lick everything."

"Why can't I? Licking is good." Then he froze, his shocked eyes finding Rose. 

She blushed furiously. But instead of shying away. She looked back at him. "I can imagine."

This time he blushed and coughed. When he looked up though, she had moved on to the antiperspirants. 

"How about this one, Doctor?" she asked, holding one up, its cap off. He joined her, shaking off the awkwardness of the interaction. Of course that's what they did, didn't they? Never acknowledged what was happening. He wondered if this time he could get past that. Of course he had some hurdles to get over first, but he would get there. 

OoOoO  
After the department store, Rose took him to a few other places. This time, he was having a grand time. Rose picked out things for him that felt more like things he would choose. She even bought him a Beatles shirt and a few things with superheroes on them. Then she took him to a bookstore and bought him the comics to go with the characters. Some of them were similar to they were in the other world, some not. She also told him that they would be good for him to help learn to read. As he flipped though the pages he already was recognizing words. 

After a while, they put all the things in the boot of the car. They had parked near a river walk before going into the last store. 

She caught the Doctor looking out at the water. 

He turned to her. "Fancy a walk?" he asked hopefully. 

She looked at her watch then looked around cautiously. He lifted his eyebrows and she smiled sheepishly but didn't offer an explanation. "A short one? Mum texted and wants us back for dinner. "

He nodded and reached out for her, then pulled his hand away when she looked at it but didn't reach for it. It was such a common gesture for him to reach for her, but the sad reality was that they weren't like they were before. It was hard to remember at times like this. 

He could tell that she was warring with her emotions and his thoughts threatened to burst forth. Suddenly without warning, his anger and frustration, which usually went hand in hand, started to bubble up. He shoved his hand in his pocket, a painful move given the bruising, and crossed the street, ending at the railing next to the river. He let the coolness of the metal on his hands calm him as he took deep breaths. Why was this all so hard? "Because life went on while you were away, " answered a voice in his head. 

He felt a presence next to him and the shoulder of a shorter person bump his. He looked down to see Rose looking out at the river. 

"This is weird. Do you know what weird means?" she asked.

"Yes, you use it all the time," he answered, without attitude, but a statement of fact. He turned to her and she looked up. "Rose, I hate that this is weird. I hate that I was gone for so long. I hate that life went on without me."

"You hate that I'm with Andrew." she said flatly. 

"Well I don't like it. But you moved on. But you didn't know. You lived. And now I'm here, in the middle of your life. I feel like an alien."

"You are." She tried to smile at him, but his expression of pain made it drop from her lips. 

He turned back to the river. "I am an alien. I'm not sure I should be here. I'm just...messing it up for you."

Rose stepped back. "May I remind you that I was still looking for you?"

"Looking for me or him?"he countered still not meeting her eyes. 

"Aren't you the same?"

He breathed out. "Yes."

"I never forgot about you, Doctor. I could have stopped looking but I didn't."

"But why didn't you? You found love."

There was a long pause before she spoke again. "I don't know what I found. But I needed someone and Andrew was there. I don't know that is or was love. Yes, were were together, but we hadn't labeled it. You know, put a name to it. I haven't had enough time to sort it all out."

He breathed out again. "Waiting is hard. I know what I want."

There was another long pause. "How much Time Lord is in you?"

He raised his eyebrows at the change in subject. "Uh, I don't know. I seem to be smart, but I have a lot more trouble with...thoughts. "

"Like more anger?"

"Yes, I guess." He felt a hand take his off the railing and a thumb run over his knuckles. He resisted the urge to react. 

"So this is what you do now? " she asked.

"I have to let it out, Rose," he answered defeatedly. 

She sighed. "I can only imagine what you're going through. But you need to know that I'm here for you. I won't just let you go. But I have a lot to work out also. You think you can wait?"

He turned full to her. "I will wait forever if it means I get you." He pulled her into his arms. 

This was the first hug they had shared where neither of them was distraught. It felt good, great in fact. It felt like it always had. It felt right. 

The sound of voices and the clicking of cameras brought them out of it. About 30 meteres away a man with a camera stood with a long lens. 

"We have to go," Rose said, letting him go and heading for the car. 

He frowned at the man, taking a step towards him but then heard Rose call for him. He wanted to go to the man, smash the camera, maybe throw him in the river. But a second call from Rose made him turn and run to her. Like her brother, she had a way of cutting through his thoughts. 

He joined her, getting in and barely getting his seatbelt on before she raced out of the lot and onto the street. 

"What was that?"he asked. 

"You know that Vitex Heiress stuff we talked about?"

"Yes?"

"Well, we just got photographed. It happens. But it will...complicate things...a lot."

He wasn't sure what 'complicate' meant. But from her expression, he guessed. 

"So people talk about you now," he ventured.

"Yes, I suppose. I am the daughter of one of this world's most successful businessmen. When I came here they had to fabricate a story. My dad and the other Jackie didn't have children as you will remember."

He smiled, "The dog," he uttered. 

She let out a frustrated huff. "Yes. But then I was there, and my mum had changed. Hers was explained away by them saying that she was almost 'cyberized' but all they did was interrupted and all that happened was a mild brain injury that resulted in amnesia and some personality changes. My father stood by her and since he was so insistent and literally anything could have happened they went for it. I mean they had a heyday at first but it calmed down after a bit. I was another story."

"You were new."

"Yes. At first they hid me, but then realized that it wasn't worth it. Then they came up with the story that Mum and Dad had a baby before they were married but put her, me, up for adoption. The story was that after the cybermen came, I lost my parents and went to search for my birth parents. I found the records and found them. Of course the paps had a lot of fun painting me as a gold-digger. It was bad at first, but as I didn't act horribly and party much they eased off. But any chance they get to catch me they take and run with. I wonder what they will say now? "

"Why would they care? We weren't-"

"Snogging?"

He raised an eyebrow in question.

She made kissing noises and he reddened. "Snogging," he repeated. 

"But Doctor, the last time I was photographed was at the Vitex gala, uh dance. I was coming out and the heel of my shoe caught on my dress and I stumbled. Andrew was there and scooped me up and I kissed him. I mean we were together and all. The paps went wild. First they accused me of drinking too much. I hadn't. Then they said that he and I was engaged... Uh promised to be married." She supplied the explanation before he asked. "Then they said I was engaged against my parent's wishes. They said things about Andrew too. It as awful. Gosh it's been a long time, a few months since all of that happened. It still makes me mad."

She hazarded a glance at the Doctor, but couldn't read his face. 

"Did you get all that?" she finally asked.

He nodded slowly. "Yes. I'm sorry about hugging you."

"Don't be. I never want you to not be yourself around me. That's how you are, that's how we are. But there's something else, isn't there?"

He took a moment. "Yes. I haven't heard you talk about Andrew yet. Not like a uh..."

"A boyfriend?"

He nodded, now looking out the window. 

"I don't know how to make it better for either of us, Doctor. It happened. "

He sighed heavily. "I know." 

The rest of the car ride was in silence, although not an uncomfortable one. They were both just lost in thought. 

When they pulled back up to the mansion, Jackie was outside signing something for a delivery. She looked up at them and smiled. "Your suits are here, Doctor!" she exclaimed. 

The Doctor broke into a huge smile and as Rose popped open the boot, he grabbed one of the bags and jogged over to Jackie. He took the suits in his arms and turned to Rose."I'll be right back," he said, with a wink. 

She smiled back, blushing.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See? I'm giving more! I actually realized the this fic is about 20 chapters(ish) and I better get going if I want to finish!

As the Doctor ran up the stairs with his suits, Jackie came over to Rose, who was unpacking the boot of the car. 

"How was lunch, oh and I see that you bought him some more clothes."

"Lunch was great, like old times. I had forgotten what it was like to just be with him, doing things. It felt good."

"So you are convinced that he is him then?" her mother asked.

"Well, I still don't know. There were a few times when we were just talking that it felt natural, like nothing was between us. Then he'd struggle with a word or something and it would put me back to what was happening. And for the first time ever, he talked about his emotions. He never did that before. I mentioned his hands and he told me about anger issues. What is he doing to his hands?"

Jackie sighed, reaching for one of the bags Rose was holding. "He sneaks out at night. I don't know exactly what he's doing, but Pete thinks he may be hitting something, maybe a tree."

"Why a tree?"

"I have no idea."

"He told me he has to get the anger out. I've never seen this side of him."

"Maybe it's the human in him. We've never been great at controlling anger." They started walking towards the house. 

Just before the door, Rose's mobile began to chirp. Hastily she put the bags down inside the door and pulled it out. "It's Andrew mum, I need to take it."

"I'll get the bags emptied," said Jackie as Rose stepped back, answering her call.

"Hey," she said, "What's up?"

There was a pause on the other end. Then, "Rose, um do you want to tell me something?"

She racked her brain. "No, was I supposed to do something?"

Another pause. "Have you seen 'Celeb Pop' today?"

She frowned. "Why would I see that? It's nonsense."

"Well about five minutes ago they posted a story. Let me read it to you." He cleared his throat. "The Vitex Girl's New Squeeze. Who is this delectable man? Rose Tyler was seen about town today with a new man on her arm. Sources were unable to identify the tall hunk, but they got in her car for a hasty retreat after being caught in an amorous embrace."

Rose gripped the phone. "It was a hug Andrew, I was hugging my friend. We weren't snogging. It was a hug between longtime friends. He's going through a lot right now and in case you haven't noticed, so am I. It was a hug, that's all."

"It didn't look like a normal hug, you had your heads tilted together."

"You saw the picture?" she asked,"What, do you have some sort of alert on me?"

"I don't, but others do and I got a call," he said, tension seeping into his voice. 

Rose's stomach sunk. This was not the time. There was too much in the air. She tried to take a steadying breath. 

"Rose, I'll ask you again, is there something you want to tell me?"

"No, Andrew there is not," she spat,"we were having a hug. I told you that I was sorting things, but I don't know yet. You can't just go around accusing me of things. When I figure it all out I will tell you. "

"So were do I feature in all this? Do I have to sit and wait for you to tell me whether you pick me or him? That's not fair, Rose. You can't just play me like that. IT'S NOT FAIR!" he yelled.

"Andrew-" she started.

"Listen, I'm going to Jake's tonight. The flat, well I guess your flat, is all yours. You let me know when you have an answer." He ended the call.

Rose stood there staring at the phone. Ten thousand thoughts flew through her mind and scattered like marbles hitting a tile floor. Nothing made sense. She wasn't closer to any answer than she was on the beach, and it was getting more painful by the moment. Whoever she chose, whatever happened, someone was going to be hurt. And whatever happened, she would be at the epicenter. She could not avoid being injured too. 

"Rose, come here!" Jackie called from the door. She wore a huge grin.

Rose looked up, and walked towards her mother. She had to will herself to take every step, and even with increased effort, her legs didn't want to move correctly. After what seemed like forever she crossed the threshold into the mansion. At that moment her heart stopped. 

Coming down the stairs was the Doctor. Her Doctor. He was beaming. His hair was now styled in its perfect unkept way and he wore a brown dark brown striped suit with a white oxford under the jacket with a swirly blue tie. The look was finished by new white chucks. 

Rose was frozen on the spot. Her heart raced and her mouth went completely dry. She let out a little sigh. It was impossible. 

"Do you like it?" he asked, "They didn't have the same -" he glanced to Jackie.

"They didn't have the exact style," Jackie finished. 

The spell was broken. Rose looked him up and down again. It wasn't the same. The fabric was different. It wasn't the same brown suit. The shirt was too crisp, and the tie wasn't right. He had never had new shoes that she saw, and even the hair on closer examination, was off. 

No, it didn't work. She shook her head, watching the grin drop from his face. "It's not right," she said quietly. "I can't-" She never finished her sentence. She was off, turning and sprinting to her car. She was putting it in gear before the Doctor gathered himself and ran after. 

All he saw was the back end of the car pulling onto the street as she escaped. 

Jackie came to stand next to him. 

"She'll come around," she said with what he could imagine was an attempt to make it sound alright. 

"I'm not sure if she will now," he said mournfully. "She can't see me, can can only see that I'm not her Doctor." He dropped his head and walked calmly back into the house, kicking at little rocks along the way. 

The Doctor didn't come down for dinner that night, but Jackie didn't call after him. 

OoOoOo  
Rose got home at nearly midnight after driving for hours. Her thoughts raced as she drove mile after mile. When it got dark she parked at an overlook, one frequented by lovers, and looked out onto the city. The city that was so close to her London, the one she grew up in, but different. She tolerated it most days, but that day was different. That day it seemed all wrong, like when the audio and video didn't match on a movie. 

She had taken a step forward with one man, but then been blown back. The other man had shut her out. She didn't know how the Doctor reacted to her leaving, and no one called. She could only guess what Andrew was doing or thinking. She had messed up, with both of them. Andrew had the right to know where he stood and the Doctor had the right to fight for her. But she stood in the middle, not sure what do do with either. 

As she watched the illuminated clock on her dash hit 2345 she headed for her flat. With no answers to any of her questions. 

OoOoO

In his room, the Doctor paced back and forth. His hair no longer styled, but sticking up in all directions from running his fingers through it. "What had gone wrong? The day had been all but perfect. There were some bumps, but they were to be expected. Then the man was there with a camera. Had that been it? But Rose recovered so quickly from it all. He had been so happy to have his suits, to feel like himself again, that he raced up the stairs two at a time. He had had the sense to grab the bag of hair products and after donning the suit in record time, had done his hair. He had smiled at himself in the mirror. It was all falling into place. 

But then she saw him and she went pale. He took a few more steps down, but could already see that she was struggling. Then she shook her head and she was gone. 

All his pacing had produced no answers, but as the night wore on, the suit became less and less comfortable. Just the movement of the fabric on his skin seemed to make him chafe all over. First, he removed the jacket, hanging it up, and placing it at the back of the closet. Then the pants, then shirt and tie. Then her dug out the other suit and did that same, pushing them so far back that the other clothes, as few as they were, hid them. He couldn't see them right now. They made Rose flee. 

When the sounds of the house got quiet, he dug the tea towels out of the hamper and slid silently out of the house. The cold night stung his cheeks, but breaking into a run was at the same time liberating and exhausting. The first few hits were accompanied but furious grunts. 

Then he stopped, has something moved in the bushes? He stood stock still for a minute. Nothing moved again. Rain was threatening and the wind had picked up. That was it, the wind must have knocked a branch loose. He started again, hit after hit. Only when he could feel the sticky blood through the towels did he stop. He gingerly unwrapped his hands, hissing as he separated the cloth from his now weeping hands. 

Then something made his ears perk up. There was a noise, a breath more like, then nothing. He froze again. Nothing moved again. He became aware of the wind though, starting to stir the leaves. He focused on the non-wind sound, but there was nothing. 

Then a gust of wind rushed through the wooded area, making his skin prickle. The first drop of rain came soon after. More drops landed on him as he stepped out of the woods and onto the mansion grounds. He broke into a run as the drops got closer together and harder. By the time he climbed into the window, he soaked to the bone, muddy and sore. He peeled off his clothes, didn't bother with pajamas, and climbed into bed. 

OoOoO  
The Doctor awoke suddenly early in the morning. He didn't know what woke him, but he sat up in bed. The room was cold and as he pushed off the duvet trying to get his bearings he looked around. The first light of the day was lightening the sky. He glanced out the window to see that the storm from the night before had dissipated. 

He stood, trying to see what woke him, but nothing was obvious. He quickly dug grabbed some pants in a drawer then looked in one of the bags from his trip with Rose and found some sweatpants. He then slid on his new Beatles shirt as well as socks. 

There was no noise in the house yet so he ventured out to the kitchen. There was no use in sleeping again that morning as his mind had started to race as soon as his eyes opened. He was sore, not terribly so, but his hands were very bruised and stiff having scabbed overnight. He wondered idly how bad they would be if he hadn't had the towels on them. 

In the kitchen he found the tea cupboard and found the right tea by smelling it. Then as the kettle was warming he dug out some biscuits. 

Once the tea was made, and with a biscuit already in his mouth, he headed back up the stairs, mug in hand. He stopped at the foot of the stairs glancing at a stack of Tony's books that had been piled there. He sifted through them, finding one that was for beginning readers. That would be a good one. He had started to recognize words and letters thanks to Tony's shows, but now it was time to take the next step. 

He frowned. He had to teach himself to read quickly. If it didn't work with Rose, as it looked like it may not, he needed to be ready for this world. He needed a job. He couldn't live in the mansion forever. He hardly thought the he would be any good at Torchwood not being able to read. 

He briefly thought of having to find a flat, then the thought of Jackie looking with him, Rose nowhere in sight. His heart sunk again as he turned and started up the stairs again. 

He sat down in the chair by the window, setting his tea and the last biscuit on a small table. He took a sip of tea and leaned back, opening the book. He had made it to the second page when an earsplitting alarm went off. Clapping his hands over his ears, he jumped up, thinking maybe he had started a fire in the kitchen, and raced down the stairs. Pete met him there, out of breath and pulling on a dressing gown. 

Pete went to a box on the wall and entered in a code. The alarm quickly ceased, much to their relief. 

The next sound was a wailing and Pete was crashed into by a screaming little boy. “What was that?” he screamed, tears streaming down his face. 

Pete scooped up his son. “It’s just the alarm son; I’m not sure why it went off. ”

Jackie joined them, hastily pulling on her own dressing gown. She took Tony from Pete. “Pete what’s happening?”

“I don’t know Jacks, it’s probably nothing. Here, I’ll take you and Tony to our room. I need to have a look around. Don’t worry though, anytime something like this happens, there is a team dispatched. They will be here shortly.” He looked to the Doctor. “You can imagine what happened last time, when some teenagers were trying to break in. They quickly found themselves staring at the barrel of a large gun.” He gave a nervous laugh and headed up the stairs to settle his family. The Doctor read his face though. This was not alright. He ran up to his room for shoes.

By the time the Doctor found non-muddy shoes and put them on and went downstairs, Pete was dressed and in the kitchen. He looked up at the Doctor, whose eyes were fixed on the gun in Pete's hand. It was about the size of a pistol but bulkier. It didn't look normal. 

“Are they OK?” asked the Doctor.

“Yes, our room is a safe zone. When the door is locked, no one or nothing is getting in."

"You have a-" he made a whirling movement with his fingers. 

"An alarm? Yes."

The Doctor's eyes got big. How had he not tripped it? He had no idea it was there. 

Pete gave him a nod. "I know about you...going out. But you usually get back in before midnight. I was going to talk to you about it today, actually. I was going to show you how to set it. But I was still awake reading when you came back last night. You don't have to climb in anymore. But we can talk about that later. I need to get a look around. Are you coming with me?"

"Yes," the Doctor counteresm a little embarrassed that the secret he kept was so well known. 

"OK, I need to get a look outside. Let me look at my app for the security system for a moment." He opened his phone and pulled up the app. He fiddled with it a minute before looking up. "It says the breech was on the second floor. But when I did a sweep up there a minute ago nothing seemed out of order. Now I need to take a look at the grounds, just to see if anything is out there right now. My team will be more thorough when they get here.”

“I’ll help,” piped in the Doctor. 

Pete didn’t argue, in fact he handed the Doctor a rather impressive looking torch that he pulled form a cabinet. The Doctor was relieved the Pete hadn’t even attempted to hand him a weapon. They stepped outside together and looked around the grounds. There was nothing obvious to be seen. “Doctor, I’d like to go in and have a look the second floor again, can you investigate from below? Check around the house?”

“Sure,” the Doctor said, heading off around the house where Pete pointed.

The Doctor rooted around in the bushes surrounding the house. He heard the window above him open. He looked up to see Pete sticking his head out. He was in Tony’s room. “Do you see anything Doctor?”

“Yes, look…feet!” the Doctor yelled up. 

Pete leaned out a little further. “Oh you mean footprints; I can see them from here. Are they human?”

“I don’t think so, there is a…” He pointed his finger in a scratching motion.

“A claw, like a cat?”

“Yes but on the foot. On the front like a… toe?”

Pete grew quiet; he was lightly running his fingers along something on the windowsill. “Doctor, can you join me?”

The Doctor raced up the stairs to Tony’s room. When the Doctor approached him, Pete pointed to deep grooves in the wood of the sill. “Claws,” the Doctor said. He then stuck his head out the window, looking around. “There, it got up there.” He showed Pete a drain pipe that ran about two feet from the window. 

Pete nodded. “It climbed the drainpipe. Look, you can see more claw marks.” 

“It tried to get in here.” The Doctor indicated some scratches on the window itself. 

Pete stepped back. “I bet it triggered the alarm and fell off. Maybe that’s what the grooves are from. It fell.”

They both stuck their heads out again and looked down. Sure enough, one of the shrubs near the house was crushed down as if something had landed on it.

Pete immediately called Torchwood to report in. The team hadn’t arrived yet and he needed to update the dispatcher and try to gather more information. Minutes later Pete was yelling into his phone, "Why didn't anyone call me?" Someone was talking on the other side. "I realize that, but a security breech is a security breech!" He ended the call. He glanced out the window again. The sun was just beginning to peek over the horizon. 

The Doctor quirked an eyebrow at him. "Did something happen?"

"I don't know. Someone hacked into the mainframe of Torchwood late last night. When I say hacked in, they implanted a major virus. My IT guys were right on it, and it looks like they only got into the human resources file, then the virus vanished. But why? And you know what is really odd? They only opened my file. What did they want?"

The Doctor gleaned what he could from Pete but it wasn’t much. He didn’t wait for Pete to simplify either. “I think they wanted Tony."

"But why?"

"They wanted him, but couldn't get him..." the Doctor's sentence faded off. 

Simultaneously they looked wide eyed at each other. "ROSE!" they exclaimed in unison.  
OoOoO  
Rose woke early after a restless night. She had tossed and turned all night, plagued with vivid and disturbing dreams. This night was worse though, knowing how mad Andrew was, and seeing the Doctor in a suit had pushed her over the edge. It it weren't for the sheer exhaustion that came with that much emotional turmoil she wouldn't have slept at all. The dreams were terrible. First there was the alien gameshow where she had to choose who had to be vaporized, either Tony or her father. Then there were images of her holding someone’s hand as he dangled off a cliff. She couldn’t see who is was but he was digging his fingernails into her arm and screaming for her not to let go. Finally, just before dawn she awoke sweaty, heart racing. 

There was no use in trying to sleep, and sitting alone in the empty flat with tea wasn't going to help either. It was her morning ritual to run anyway, so she figured this run would just be earlier. There were plenty of streetlights and the sun would be up soon anyway. 

She pulled on her trainers, running pants, a jog bra and a pullover jacket. As usual she put her mobile on airplane mode and just played downloaded music. This was her time, it always had been. The last thing she need was a call or a text to interrupt. She used the runs to help sort things out, a time just to think, the only constant was the pounding of her feet on the pavement. And boy, did she need to think. 

The sun was just starting to come up when she stepped outside her flat. She started on her usual route, to the right of her flat and through an alleyway into a well lit park, but that morning there was a huge lorry blocking the normal path. She huffed out a breath and took another way. She knew the neighborhood well enough that it wasn't a problem. It may even lend itself to a longer route, which with all her pent up energy might be helpful. 

While running Rose could let her mind go. She found herself examining both Andrew and the Doctor. They both were truly amazing people and she felt lucky to be with either of them. It was unfair to both of them to not decide. Then there was the language issue. It was getting better, almost by the hour, but still it would be a little while before he could truly state how he was feeling. But Andrew had cut her to the core when he said what he did. He was right though. It was selfish for her to make him wait while she decided his fate. He had been more than patient, and his patience had been even before the Doctor arrived. He had waited for her to come around, waited to be intimate, waited for it all until she was ready. She missed him too.

She couldn't ignore the fact that they had had something before all this, and it was good. They hadn't talked marriage, but before her last jump they had been talking about a trip to Switzerland. Just a getaway. They also talked a lot about future plans, what they would like in a house, how big of a garden they wanted and so forth. It was never official but always there. It was almost assumed that they would be together. Oddly enough, it was like the dimension cannon was completely separate. They never talked about it in their plans. It had been a non-issue and they had never talked about what would happen if it worked. Perhaps they should have. 

Then there was the issue with the Doctor himself. He had said multiple times that he was the Doctor. It didn't make sense though. How could he be? He certainly had the mannerisms, charm and wit. He also had, without a doubt, the face, voice and body. It just didn't seem to fit. How could he be him? How could he be him with another him somewhere else? Did he have all the memories? They had talked a little about it, and he seemed to, but how? He seemed to have more questions surrounding him than answers. The good part about that was at the rate he was acquiring language they would be able to examine it all together soon. Just like Andrew, she liked being with the Doctor. But for some reason she couldn't fully commit. Was it because of Andrew? Or was it that she still needed to be convinced that he was him?

Seeing him in that suit nearly tore her heart out. It was right, but also not. Just thinking about it hurt. 

On top of all that, and something she hadn't really had time to examined until then, was the abandonment issue. When the blue box disappeared, every thought of the white wall came flooding back. Then there was the holograph on the beach when she had proclaimed her love to him. But he always had to go. Would this Doctor leave too? Would he not be able to say the same things that the other one couldn't say? He already had said one thing that she wanted to hear, right before his words were taken. But still she had questions. Would he be happy to have her at his side but never offer anything beyond that? She was a grown woman now. That had been fine when she was 19, but she was older now. She wanted a relationship that would last. He was hanging in there as of now, but for how long? Would he be able to settle down? Would he be able to love her like she wanted to be loved?

Rose turned onto a dimly lit street deciding to try to get back to her original route. It seemed like most of her way was blocked by oddly similar lorries. It must just be the time of day for deliveries, she mused. As that thought crossed her mind so did the concussion of a gun blast. 

Rose careened and hit the ground hard, her phone skittering out and into a storm drain. What she thought was a gun was just some sort of stun. It made every nerve in her body scream. She opened her mouth to yell out, but was quickly sprayed with something horrific smelling. It burned her eyes and lungs, but that didn't matter, as her whole world promptly went black. 


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time for some action. More coming very soon.

Pete and the Doctor had hastily gotten dressed and into his car. Andrew had been called too and Pete found out he wasn't at Rose's flat and had no idea where she was. He made it to her flat before them and reported her place to be empty but her running things were gone. He had immediately called a few team members and they had gone out looking for her. Pete turned for Torchwood, aware that he now had someone in the car that was not an employee and really had no business being there, but he also knew that even with the limited vocabulary, the Doctor was a huge resource. He would just have to vouch for him to get him into the secure areas. 

Pete had been on the phone most of the drive in. He had a team trying to contact Rose by phone also. When that didn’t work, he asked a Torchwood agent to try to remotely turn on her mobile to try to get a location. All of the agents had Torchwood phones so ultimately they could be tracked in any situation should the need allow. Of course all this was exceptionally hard for the Doctor to follow. He listened carefully trying to keep up, especially with tech speak happening. but simply by hearing Pete’s tone made him realize that things were not going in the right direction. 

"Do you think she was taken?" The Doctor asked in a brief break in between calls. 

"It sounds like it," Pete said, "Andrew can't find her. It makes sense."

Upon their arrival at Torchwood, Pete talked to the guard, who stuck a large red sticker on the Doctor’s shirt. He assumed it read “visitor” or something like that. They headed to a large conference room filled with various computers and large flat screens mounted on the walls. There were several team members already there and they immediately engaged Pete. The Doctor tried desperately to hang in but eventually he took a seat, realizing that they were most likely using codes and Pete simply did not have time to translate. 

About a half hour later, Andrew rushed in. He stopped in his tracks, taking a long look at the Doctor. He then shot a look at his boss. Who, by way of explanation, said, “He can help; he knows what he’s doing.”

Andrew almost imperceptibly shook his head, but the Doctor caught it. This man did not trust him and figured that Andrew thought he was encroaching on his territory. First Rose now Torchwood. He had no idea that he had told Rose that he thought Andrew was alright. The fact remained though, even though he didn’t have words, or at least enough words, he was an expert on aliens. 

Andrew approached Pete and then furiously started typing on a nearby laptop. The screen above them was quickly covered in thumbnail pictures. Pete pointed for the Doctor’s benefit. ”These are all recent alien encounters.” The Doctor slid on his glasses. Thank goodness he remembered to grab them as he was leaving the house. He needed them now. That thought flitted across his mind, but was quickly sidelined. 

Andrew clicked on each picture, enlarging it on the screen and giving a brief summary of what happened. Most of the species were easily recognizable to the Doctor but he didn’t know what name had been assigned to them in this world. Each of the cases sounded like it had been closed until they came to the last and most recent encounter.   
This one had video. It was of a large, pudgy, light purple alien that was wailing and writhing around. Its hands and legs were strapped down, but it was still rocking the table it was strapped to. It also was easily 3 times the size of a normal human. Pete looked at the Doctor. “This is right now, it’s a live feed. Have you ever seen this before?”

The Doctor leaned in and squinted, despite his glasses. He then jumped to his feet. “OH! It’s just a baby! And it's scared!” he yelled. ”Where are the mum and dad?”

“We found it alone at a crash site yesterday. It’s the most recent alien encounter, at least the most current one that hasn’t been resolved. And that’s not a baby, Doctor. It’s malicious and throwing our people around or outright hurting them. It nearly broke my arm,” Andrew explained, holding out a bruised arm and this time visibly shaking his head. 

“It is! These babies are big… they…arrrrg!” He raked his hands through his hair trying to find the words. He settled for leaping over a nearby table and pulling paper out of a printer. He then grabbed a pen Andrew was holding (much to Andrew’s dismay) and began to draw. 

Andrew let out a little aggravated noise. “Pictures? Really? C’mon Doctor.” He had heard about Rose and him using the crayons to communicate. He found it childish at best. 

The Doctor ignored him completely. First he drew two aliens, making sure he put claws on their hands and feet. Pete nodded. Then he drew an arrow coming from the couple and an egg. Then he

“It’s not solid or hard?” asked Pete.

“No, it’s erm…” he made stretching motions with his hands. 

“It’s stretchy?” inquired Andrew, now drawn into the game. 

“Yes, it is big, baby is big. The…” The Doctor squeezed several different bones in his hand and arm.

“Bones?” Pete guessed.

“Bones are like this.” He hastily drew a bone with holes in it. ”Not hard, not really soft but-”

“Like spongy?”

“Yes, as they get hard, the baby gets smaller. About a year.”

Pete nodded in understanding. “So you are saying that the mother lays and egg, and it grows huge. The baby hatches and is big but its bones are spongy. Then as the bones harden, the baby shrinks. So this is a pretty young baby.”

“Yes.” He looked up at the screen. “It’s hungry.”

“What does it eat?” Andrew asked.

“Erm…cream, not cream…” in his agitated state, even the words he knew were failing him.

“Milk?” It was Andrew again.

“Yes milk would be OK, but with more… things to make the bones hard.”

“So we need milk with additions like more calcium. What else?” Now it was Pete’s turn. 

“I don’t know, I need to see the…” he got another piece of paper and sketched a chemical makeup. 

“Oh you need to see the chemical drawn out to see if it is the right stuff.”

“Yes I think that will work.”

Next the Doctor set to drawing the compounds that needed to be added to mimic the correct milk for the baby. Pete called down to the lab and had a technician meet the Doctor there to work. 

Pete looked up at the Doctor. "How is this baby linked to Tony almost being taken and Rose disappearing? " 

The Doctor headed to the door of the lab. "If we have their baby, then they wanted yours. If this is the...kind of alien I think, they work by, erm... They will hurt something of yours until they get theirs back."

"Revenge?" Pete asked. 

"I guess. So now we need to make the baby happy and not hungry,” he said, dashing out the door.

Once he had left, Andrew turned to Pete. ”Do you think he's right? I mean with the baby and all that?”

“Yes I think so, I mean we have nothing to go on. If that is a baby it certainly explains the behavior. Maybe if we feed it, it won’t hurt anyone else. Plus he knows aliens; he must have encountered this species before.”

“I certainly hope so.” Andrew slumped into a nearby chair. Pete eyed him. This was no time to bring up the elephant in the room. It was not going to be pretty no matter who Rose chose. He had long thought that Andrew would be his son-in-law. Now he wasn’t so sure. In the face of someone new, another player really, was Andrew showing his true colors? His tolerance or lack thereof was more than obvious. It was hard to tell though, if he was having issues in the wake of Rose being taken or the Doctor’s presence. One thing for sure, someone would be unhappy at the outcome. 

His thoughts turned to his daughter. Pete had total confidence in Rose. She was more than trained for this. She had even been taken before. She would be able to hang in there if given the chance. They would find her.

OoOoOoO

Rose woke in pitch darkness her whole body aching. She tried to stretch but met with resistance at her feet that pulled tension on her head. Was she in a bag? Suddenly everything came back in a rush. Running, being stunned, eyes burning. Panic started to creep in and she had to consciously push it down taking measured yet quiet breaths. This was no time to lose her cool, rather it was time to assess and improvise. Training had taught her that escape attempts weren’t always the best options. The urge to run was the strongest, but it frequently got people killed. All it took is one trigger happy captor.

Her hands and feet were bound tightly. Her hands were behind her back. She had nothing around her mouth, but didn’t call out. If whoever had her thought she was unconscious she had a better chance at gaining information. Right now though, she was seemingly alone, and very, very cold. Her head ached, especially on the right side. As she moved slightly she felt sharp pain on her temple, then warm wetness spreading. So she had a head wound that must have been trying to start a scab. That also spoke to time. She must have been out for several hours. 

At least she was alive. That meant that whoever had her wanted her that way. That was good. There was no sound around her so she couldn’t begin to assess her whereabouts. That would be a problem soon. For now she would wait, start to work on her bound hands and prepare. 


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a little chapter moving things forward.

The Doctor entered the room with the purple alien baby carrying a large bottle with a huge nipple attached. He actually had no idea how these babies ate, since the mothers were so small. The baby had stopped wailing and pulling on the restraints, but was still whimpering. The sound hit the Doctor right in the heart, it was so miserable. He walked slowly, using soothing sounds. From the table the baby eyed him. With each step closer it got more and more agitated, moving and pulling on the restraints. 

Pete and Andrew watched from behind the two-way mirror. “He’s nuts,” said Andrew. 

“But the right kind of nuts,” retorted Pete. 

Inside the room, the Doctor had made his way to the table. The baby had just started to cry again and writhe around. “It’s OK,” he crooned, then broke into a long string of unintelligible sounds. They seemed to soothe the baby to some degree. But then it started right up again. 

The Doctor hefted the bottle to his shoulder and came in close. The baby was thrashing its head back and forth so he decided to take a chance. He came as close as he dared, seeing as how the baby had the beginnings of claws even though its hands were tied down. He deftly squeezed the nipple and squirted the milk substance at its mouth. Briefly it stopped crying as it dealt with the assault. It coughed and gagged a little then turned to face him, its mouth open wide and his tongue sticking out. 

Carefully the Doctor took another step forward and extended the bottle. Next thing he knew, the baby was greedily sucking. It was straining its claws up in what seemed like an effort to hold the bottle. Seeing this, the Doctor held it in one hand and freed one of the baby’s arms. 

“WHAT IS HE DOING?” Andrew yelled, heading for the door into the room. 

“Wait!” Pete answered. 

Andrew froze as he saw the now free hand went up to meet the bottle. The Doctor ran over to the other side, releasing that hand too. Then he helped it sit up, crawling onto the table next to it. There it sat, sucking the milk, both hands holding on tight. It didn’t lash out at the Doctor, rather leaned into him. Pete thought it comical how the Doctor had to brace himself with all his might to allow the baby to do so. When it was done with the milk, it let out a massive burp, dropped the bottle and settled back down, barely missing the Doctor as he scurried out of the way. Within moments, it was asleep.

The Doctor hustled back out of the room and was met with Pete and Andrew. “See? Hungry!” the Doctor enthused.  
  
“I can see that,” Pete answered.

“We need a…towel… not a towel… to catch the wee, and more food too.”

“OK I will have someone craft a diaper and will order more food." Pete agreed,"Then what? I mean what do we do next? Is there any way to move forward?”

The Doctor rubbed his ear thinking for a moment. “ We think Rose…disappeared… because we have the baby. We have their baby, they took yours. So maybe-”

“Wait a minute,“ Andrew started. ”So they took Rose because we have their baby. But I was there; there was no sign of parents there. It was a fluke, we responded to a possible crash in the woods and there it was. We didn’t take it, we saved it. No one was around.”

The Doctor answered first, ”It is a him. It’s a boy. About 6 months…old. Its mum and dad think you took him. They're mad.”

“So can we trade? For Rose?"

“Maybe. They are...I don't know the word… They fight a lot."

"Violent?" volunteered Pete, "Meaning they fight when they could be nice or fight rather than talk."

"Sure, violent," he said. He had taken to agreeing to words he was supplied and string them away for future use. "But maybe if we…” He pointed to the live image of the baby on the screen. ”If they see the baby they won't fight us." He quickly picked up a paper and drew a vehicle with a large screen mounted on top. Then he drew the baby like it was on the screen. "It may make them give Rose back. But we have to go fast. They are not…erm...they don’t want to wait. And they still may fight us, just because."

Pete understood immediately. The Doctor had figured out that some things were easier to explain with a picture. It worked well with his limited vocabulary. “So they aren’t a patient race. OK, we use video to show that the baby is OK, and see if that gets them to come out?"

The Doctor nodded. "They will give us Rose if they get their baby. But we have to... be smart?" He wasn't sure if that was the right word. "They may shoot first."  
"Oh, you think they may come out shooting. We need to be careful." Pete answered. 

"Yes, and I need to be there."

"Doctor," said Andrew, standing to his full height, "this is official Torchwood business. You'll only be in the way."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "But the baby didn't try to kill me. I put him to sleep."

Andrew did not appreciate the Doctor's cheek. Finally he had countered Andrew's initial onslaught from last night. Now the Doctor wore a satisfied smirk. The exchange was not unnoticed by Pete. He really liked seeing the Doctor finally expressing himself. He had looked just hours ago like he was ready to give it all up, now his spark was back. Plus he had a point. The baby was much more likely to trust the Doctor since he had fed him. 

Pete faced both men. "I agree with the Doctor." When Andrew started to protest he held up a hand. "The Doctor is an expert. If there is anyone who can figure this all out and get Rose back safe it's him. I've seen it with my own eyes. Ok, I'll see to it that the vehicle gets the monitor on it. Doctor, check on the baby, and Andrew can you get an update on the crash?"

Both nodded, Andrew not nearly as enthusiastically as the Doctor, and started to head out when Andrew’s phone buzzed. He stopped and so did the others. "No, when? How in the world? Are they OK?..... Who? ....Oh my Gods. Is it gone? ...Thanks." He ended the call, face growing pale. "The wreckage was attacked this morning. It must have been after they took Rose. Our guards were all initially stunned and then one tried to fight and was... gored." They took the ship. We didn't know it happened because the ones that were stunned just woke up. When they didn't answer their radios at the check in time we sent a team, but they woke up in the meantime."

“How many men did we lose?" asked Pete.

“One.”

“Shit, I was hoping this would end peacefully. I’ll take care of the fatality. Now they have their ship and Rose. We need to move. Andrew, start to assemble a task force, everything including medical. Doctor, be sure the baby is ready to go, properly fed and dressed just in case we find them. You two can go out when we are set to assist in the location of Rose. Is there anything else they have now that I need to know about?”

"A ton of firearms." answered Andrew. "The ship was very well armed. They must be intelligent, I had 20 people guarding it. Plus we had infrared sensors and other detection devices. I don't know how they got to it."

"Oh, they're good," the Doctor piped up.

Andrew looked at the Doctor for the first time with fear in his eyes. His voice was suddenly gravely. “Are they going to kill Rose?"

It struck the Doctor at that moment that Andrew, for all his apparent bravado, was truly shaken by Rose being in danger. He sucked in a breath. "No, she'll be safe I think." He actually didn't know. It was entirely possible he had lied. 

OoOoOoO

Rose felt a sharp blow to her ribs, jolting her from a restless sleep. Despite her trying to be quiet, she bellowed in pain. She had been kicked or struck and whatever it had been was pointed. She was roughly pulled to a sitting position, the bag still around her body. Still all she could see was black. She had no idea how much time had passed or whether it was night or day. All she knew was that she hurt and was still cold. 

Someone or something stood in front of her, she could tell from the footsteps. Then something horrific and screeching was screamed at her; then repeated. She winced each time, as each one was louder. The sonic assault rattled her bones, making her ears ring and waves of nausea to descend. She didn’t have a translator with her, but the ones they had only picked up common alien languages anyway. This was like nothing she had heard before. This one sounded like a roar from an old Godzilla movie mixed with loads of base on top of fingernails on a chalkboard. It seemed to echo in her head.

She didn’t know how to answer. Maybe if she talked it would realize what language she was speaking. “Hello? I’m Rose, I work at Torchwood. They can help you.”

The response was an earsplitting roar and two more jabs to the chest. Rose was roughly pushed back down and landed with a thud. Every nerve in her body was screaming and her head was ready to burst. But she was still alive and that was good. Though whatever it was, it wasn’t happy and after the exchange she was none the wiser but in much, much more pain. 


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, I figured since my posting has been random I'd continue the trend. So here's a little action and a very important talk.

The baby was starting to stir as the Doctor went in to check on him. He had been given something that looked like an extra big adult diaper with additions sewn on to hopefully fit him. As the Doctor approached, the baby sat up and some sort of liquid dripped from the table. The smell of it made his eyes water. Its urine smelled dreadful. The baby looked upon him warily while jiggling his feet that were still in the restraints. 

“Do you want out?” the Doctor asked sweetly. He gingerly tried to release the bonds while trying not to get the urine on him. Soon though, the baby realized what was happening and started to kick and splash him, the urine drenching the Doctor’s clothing. He kept on though, swallowing down the bile rising in his throat, knowing that no matter what he had to finish. When the baby was free, he grabbed the Doctor and pulled him into a sloppy, and actually painful, hug. The Doctor felt like Bugs Bunny being petted by the abominable snowman in the cartoon. At that moment he decided to call the baby “George”.

A door opened behind them and there was a clattering sound. The food had arrived. He extricated himself and jogged over to the supplies, picking up wet towels and going back to clean up the baby and as much of the table as he could. Getting on the diaper was a struggle, but he had wiped down as much of George as possible, ever happy he didn’t have to give him a proper bath for fear of drowning. 

The Doctor tossed away the dirty towels and helped George down to the ground. He then headed over to the food on the cart; it was full of piles of big cookies and bowls of apple sauce. George followed by scooting across the floor.

The Doctor gently cleaned George’s hands again. Next he took the giant spoon (really just a normal serving spoon) and the bowl and went about spooning the food into the baby’s mouth. The cookies he placed on a mat at the baby’s feet. George ate voraciously, insisting on shoving the cookies in himself while trying to grab the spoon. It was interesting just how much George acted like a human baby, just stronger. The Doctor dodged and weaved around trying to miss the overly happy baby’s arms and legs. 

In the meantime, two teams had snuck in the back wearing hazardous materials suits and were cleaning up the rest of the urine, removing the table and laying down rubber mats and pillows and blankets. George did not see anyone else, as he was focused on stuffing his face. Just as the crews finished, he spit out a wad of cookie mixed with apple sauce that slammed into the Doctor’s chest, making him take a step backward. 

While recovering and trying unsuccessfully to wipe himself off, the Doctor led George over to the new living space. The baby quickly made a game of throwing the pillows around and screaming happily. Seeing his opportunity, the Doctor ducked out, feeling awful and covered in urine, apple sauce and bits of cookie. When he walked out he came face to face with Andrew, who eyed him curiously. “Tough time?” Andrew smirked, then grimaced at the smell. 

“He was happy, but also he wee'd. Are there any clothes?”

Andrew smiled, and the Doctor realized that it was the first time he had actually done this, at least to him. “Yeah, we have some Torchwood stuff. And oh Gods, please take a shower.”OoOoOoOAfter a hot shower and an overabundance of scrubbing, the Doctor emerged. He found the clothes, a navy blue Torchwood t-shirt, sweatshirt, tactical trousers and black boots. Andrew had even laid out pants and socks. The Doctor bristled a little at having to wear a uniform, but his other clothes would most likely have to be burned. Hopefully they could save his Converse, he had just gotten them and hadn't even had a chance to break them in. 

After hurriedly dressing, he ran off to find Pete and Andrew. Time was starting to run out. Now the George was squared away they could find his parents. 

He found them in the large conference room, slumped in front of a computer. Without saying anything, the Doctor picked up the paper and pen and drew a space ship with what looked like energy all around it. He thrust it at Pete. “Can you look for this?” he asked, indicating the energy.

Pete looked to Andrew, who spoke. “Did you think we hadn’t already figured to look for the energy signature of the ship? What do you take us for? We’ve been scanning since you were playing nanny. We already have an area and have sent out the car and monitor. We were just waiting on you actually. Are you ready?”

The Doctor visibly reddened. ”And what about the baby?”

“We will send for him when Rose has been located and we can negotiate.” Pete answered, trying to break the tension. Both men held each other’s gaze, eyes steely, jaws set. 

The Doctor spoke first, “Have another bottle for him made in case. He can drink it by himself. I am ready to go.” His words were clipped. Pete noticed that he hadn’t had much emotion in his voice before, probably because he was searching for the words. But now things flowed more freely and it was easy to see that he and Andrew were not a match made in heaven. It was remarkable though; how the Doctor heard a word used or defined and instantly added it to his vocabulary, then used it correctly. At this rate, he would be fluent in less than a week, maybe sooner.

OoOoOoO  
About fifteen minutes later, the Doctor was shown to a parking structure where he climbed into a black Torchwood SUV driven by Andrew. Pete had stayed behind to oversee the command and to call Jackie, who had already called him no less than 500 times. Andrew pulled out quickly, barely giving the Doctor time to put on his seat belt. Not saying anything to Andrew was becoming harder and harder. It was clear how the bigger man felt about him, but he was afraid that if he confronted him it would end in a fight. Andrew seemed like the sort that would swing first, and that was not the Doctor’s preferred method of discussing things, well except for with the tree, but that was another matter entirely.

After driving for a while on the highway, they exited into an industrial area. There was no one out on the street save a few transients. It was here that they met up with the vehicle with the monitor on top. It was currently showing video George playing with the pillows and squealing with delight. Andrew called on the radio for it to stop and got out to speak with the driver. From what the Doctor could understand they had been focusing on the area of heaviest energy concentration but hadn't had anything happen yet. 

After a minute the Doctor got out too, joining the men. He didn't appreciate the sideways glance he got from Andrew, who didn't bother introduce him to the driver of the monitor car. They were stopped in the middle of a mostly abandoned warehouse area. The buildings were dilapidated and most of them were scheduled for demolition at some time. Now they just sat idle. Any of them would be a perfect place to hide a ship and a hostage. 

Andrew finished talking to the driver, turned and walked back into the Torchwood SUV they were currently travelling in. He didn't say anything to the Doctor, who jogged after him, grabbing his shoulder. 

"Andrew, we need to talk."

"Not now Doctor."

"No, now. We are two men, we need to talk."

"Fine Doctor, what on Earth would you like to talk about?"

"What do you think Andrew? We need to talk about Rose."

"Then go ahead, I'm dying to know what you think about the situation. Or did I just use too big words for you?"

The Doctor furrowed his brows. "That's hardly fair Andrew; you can see I'm trying."

Andrew nodded begrudgingly.

"You need to know, I didn't come here just for Rose. I was... dropped here. I had no choice."

"I heard."

Both men had leaned over onto the hood of the SUV. They were about a foot apart. They both sighed and the Doctor spoke again, "How would you like it, no words, no home, no job, and the only person you … the person you want to be with has moved on? I have nothing. Rose was the only thing I thought I could have, and you had her."

Andrew shifted. “But now she doesn't know. I thought we were perfect, Doctor. I wanted her to be my wife and hoped we could be working towards that. I mean it was a long way off, but I still considered it as an option." He paused, “I’m sorry, that was a ramble. Did you get all that?"

The Doctor gave him a sad smile. "Mostly, thanks." For the first time Andrew was sympathetic to the Doctor's situation. "You know, I told her that I saw that you were nice to her and told her to take her time," the Doctor said. 

"You told her to take her time and decide on her own, and that I was nice? “Andrew asked, astonished. 

The Doctor nodded, swallowing and looking down. "That was yesterday. I have more words now; I would have told her that you are an OK guy as I saw it."

"What if she chooses me?"

The Doctor stared straight ahead then dropped his head. "Then I go live my life. I’ll hate it, but it’s her choice. If I am violent...no wrong word... if I..."  
"Force it, like to push too hard?"

"Yeah thanks, if I force it, she'll maybe think I am bad. I really am the Doctor, but it’s hard to see that. I want to be with her, you know that, but I also don't want to just take her. That's no fair to you. So I wait, and try. So far it doesn’t seem to be working very well."

"Oh I don't think so, Doctor. It's been a day and she's pretty convinced. I mean she is pretty sure. I saw the pictures."

The Doctor raised his eyebrows. "The ones that were taken at the river?"

"Yes. She tried to explain but I didn't let her."

The Doctor still didn't look at him."It was just a hug. I started it. We used to hug all the time. That's how we were."

"I know. She told me. But seeing it on social media hurt. My mates were all calling me."

The Doctor didn't answer right away, but then sighed. "I'm sorry Andrew, it was really just a hug. We both needed it. If it helps at all, when she saw me later, dressed like...well the other me, she ran. She doesn't know what she wants yet."

"No, she doesn't. And I told her it was not fair for her to leave me hanging. But I suppose it's the same for you. We both have to wait until she sorts herself. I can only imagine how hard it must be."

The Doctor shook his head looking forlorn. That was when Andrew realized that they were in the same situation. They loved the same girl, who had not done anything wrong either. No one had cheated, no one was wronged, and he just showed back up. And not even under his own power. All three of them had been thrust into this. He hadn't even been there a week either. 

"We probably need to go." Andrew motioned towards where the monitor car had been sitting. 

"Yeah, right," answered the Doctor, still lost in thought. He moved to his side of the SUV just as there was a horrifically loud WHOOSH, then an explosion in a pile of trash on his left. He was knocked back, and then against the vehicle and was buried in burning debris.

"DOCTOR!" screamed Andrew, pulling his weapon and taking up position behind the SUV. He got no response. He immediately called into Torchwood on the radio explaining what happened and then, despite the threat, ran around to try to free the Doctor.

Andrew pulled away pallets and boxes until he uncovered him. The Doctor was bleeding from the side of his head and blinked up groggily.

"Ohhhhh," he moaned. He blinked once just as a look of pain crossed his face. 

"Are you ok?" asked Andrew, dragging more trash off him.

"I think so, I landed on my head, so that's a good thing."

Andrew looked at him, bewildered. “Come on then, let’s get out of here.”

Andrew went to grab the Doctor’s hands to get him up and the Doctor screamed. “Ow my hand!!!” Andrew let go immediately, and then grabbing him under the armpits, picked up his counterpart, slinging him over a shoulder and running around the vehicle. He popped open the back door and tossed the Doctor in, getting in the driver’s side and speeding off.

The vehicle didn’t stop until it was two blocks and several turns away. Andrew turned to the Doctor in the back seat. “What was that?”

“It was not a gun but a…” the Doctor looked confused; he had his hand pressed to his left ear. 

“Like a missile?” Andrew showed with his hands something flying and exploding. The Doctor nodded. “Doctor, are you OK? You’re bleeding and you look terrible.”

“My ear…hurts, and it’s hard to hear.”

“Wait, you can’t hear well? Please tell me you can.”

“No I can…hear, it’s just…like OOOOWWWWEEEEOOOOWWWEEE!”

“Oh, your ears are ringing. OK because if you can’t hear and you can’t talk then you're worthless.” He grinned back at him. The Doctor didn’t know what he was getting at at first, but then smiled back getting the joke. Even through his pain it was a relief that Andrew was winding him up. Actually it was the first time Andrew had tried anything like that. The Doctor carefully filed that thought away to think about later. 

The pain in the side of his head caught his attention again, coupled with the sticky warm feeling seeping through his fingers. “I’m bleeding.” the Doctor stated, taking his hand from the side of his head and showing it to Andrew. It was covered in blood.

Andrew quickly got out and opened up the boot of the SUV. He took out a kit and then opened the Doctor’s door. Carefully he examined his ear. The Doctor winced. “Well Doctor, something hit your ear. The top half of it is nearly torn off. You need to see a proper doctor to get it sewn back on, but I’ll bandage it for now. He put a mass of gauze over it then wrapped around his head with roller gauze, taping the end. “Now what were you screaming about your hand?”

“Not my hand…my…” he pointed to his wrist, and then gingerly pulled back his sleeve.

“Oh your wrist, and whoa that’s already swollen, and a little crooked. It’s probably broken.”

“Lovely,” retorted the Doctor. 

Andrew pulled out an elastic bandage and a little board from his kit. He put the board under the injury and wrapped it up. “This should hold it for now. You will certainly get to know our medics though. “Anything else?” Before the Doctor could answer, Andrew’s phone went off. Soon he was deep in conversation with someone on the other end giving a situation report. 

Meanwhile the Doctor took a moment to assess himself. The only remaining pain was in his right leg. He pulled up his pant leg to reveal a big, deep gash above his ankle. It was gaping open and he could see fatty tissue and muscle through the hole. He took out some more gauze from the kit and set in on top of it, both for the purpose of stopping the bleeding and also just so he didn’t have to look at how bad it was. He was trying to figure out how to put on the roller gauze when Andrew reached over, still on the phone, and wrapped it for him. The Doctor nodded in appreciation, while listening to Andrew give directions and explanations. He was very good in a crisis, never lost his head and gave concise but detailed orders. 

While still on the phone, Andrew motioned for the Doctor to climb out and get back into the passenger seat. “OK, I need an alpha ground team also, but they need to be aware of more missile fire. Yeah the Doctor got hit by debris… he’s OK, I think mostly. I think I can figure out where it came from. OK, cordon off the streets, I’ll wait here for you. Can we get the helicopter up with the infrared? Brilliant. They need to also be on high alert, we don’t know if they will fire again. OK, thanks. Oh, and ready the baby for transport. Try to keep it ...him... happy. He doesn't walk so we will need an industrial strength wheelchair or dolly. Be creative. Bring him within about 100 meters of my location and stage in the area. We will bring him in if we are able to negotiate an exchange." He ended the call. 

The Doctor got most of what Andrew was asking for. He really took command of the situation though. He even noted that the baby was a boy; he didn't have to make that change. The Doctor saw before him a man who was actually a good match for Rose. It was difficult to watch. He thought that if it had to be anyone, Andrew was a good choice. He was smart, very protective and obviously loved Rose. This realization made the Doctor shiver a little. It was easy to justify their relationship when they were alone, but in the face of a good man also vying for her love, it was harder to take. 

“You OK? You shivered.” Andrew was looking at him.

“I’m fine.” The Doctor answered, suddenly embarrassed.

”Well I need the doctors to get a look at you. We have a full hospital back at Torchwood.”

“After,” answered the Doctor simply. Andrew didn’t argue. He knew the Doctor would not leave before Rose was found safe. 

“Fine, but a least let my medics have a look at you.”

The Doctor nodded. 

Things moved very quickly within the next ten minutes. Agents swarmed the area and a helicopter flew close overhead. Medics appeared and assessed the Doctor, re-wrapping his head and leg as well as manipulating his wrist into a brace, which hurt tremendously, but at least now it was straight. They wanted to transport him back to their hospital, but he refused again. Even though the ringing in his ears was just as bad and now his head and ear hurt terribly, in addition to his wrist and leg, but there was no way he was leaving, not with Rose still gone.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not a super long chapter today, but we're moving along!

The sound of an explosion woke Rose with a start. She still couldn’t see anything, being still in the bag, her body screamed but she knew she needed to move. Now the immobility was making it all worse. Slowly she pushed herself up to sit. Searing pain in her chest made her cry out and fall again. The next thing she knew, she was being dragged up. 

Something had grabbed the bag, and a fair amount of hair, and hauled her up. She could feel the bag being manipulated too. After a moment, the top loosened and dropped.   
It took a moment for her eyes to adjust. She blinked a few times before the thing in front of her came into focus. She tried not to react when it did, instead focusing on a slow intake of air. It was about 5’ tall but dense and muscular. It was dark purple in color with dark eyes, and three claws on each hand. Had she looked down she would have seen a large claw on each foot, but she was transfixed, her eyes travelling back up. This was an entirely new alien to her. It grabbed her and roughly dragged her to her feet, eliciting more pain from her ribs, but she swallowed the yelp. 

This was the first time Rose was able to look around. She was in a concrete room with various broken tables and chairs. There was a florescent light fixture dangling precariously from the ceiling. The only light in the room came from the now open door. The alien yelled something out the door and a second, slightly smaller one came in with something that looked like clippers. Rose stiffened. This could get bad fast. 

The second being quickly stooped down and cut off her leg restraints. Rose stayed very still while this was going on. The aliens before her had proved their inclination for violence, and if she fought now it was entirely possible they may kill her. It was best to assess what was happening and what her assets were before acting. She was sure of a few things though, her chest hurt, her head hurt, and she was really thirsty. 

Rose was led into another room, this one had windows. Outside she could see an industrial area but it looked like most of the buildings were in disrepair. It looked like they may be on the second floor of their building. She couldn’t see the ground, but everything around them went higher up. The room had an odd odor, one that when she inhaled deeply, was the exhaust from a recently fired weapon. The light was streaming in and if the building was facing west, that would mean that it was getting late. The sun would be going down soon. 

The bigger of the two pushed Rose down and she was forced to sit on a pile of tarps. As she landed, a little herd of mice ran out. The smaller alien produced a side arm and picked them off one by one with amazing accuracy. The shots were sonic in nature and it occurred to Rose that this may have been what stunned her initially. It then said something to the other one and they make a high pitched noise in unison. It was possible it was laughter.   
With the aliens distracted, Rose surveyed the room. There were several tables lined up along the wall. On top of one were about ten big bottles of what looked like milk. Next to the bottles were containers of what looked to be some sort of food. It resembled stacks of fudge but red and yellow in color. As she was trying to figure what it was, the larger alien went over and grabbed a few of the bars, dropping them into its surprisingly gaping mouth. It didn’t even look like it chewed them. Then it took an empty bottle from underneath the table and went into the next room, returning a few minutes later with a full bottle of milk to add to the ones already lined up. 

Was it a mother? Was it producing the milk? If so,where was the baby? Gods, she hoped it was milk. The whole situation made really no sense to Rose. They didn’t seem to want anything, she had been beaten, but certainly not like she had been on other occasions. It was like they were waiting. 

Suddenly the aliens ran to the window. A helicopter was buzzing somewhere overhead. It was still a fair bit off, and from its distance Rose could tell it was scanning the buildings, most likely looking for heat signatures. The smaller alien picked up what looked like an old style bazooka and slung it over its shoulder, aiming it out the open window. She wondered if that was what caused the explosion earlier. It didn’t seem like it was targeting anything though, maybe just using the impressive site to see the aircraft. Rose decided to name him Clyde, as in Bonnie and Clyde. Now with silly names it made it easier to deal with them. 

Bonnie was agitated too. She snatched an electronic tablet of a nearby table and poked at the screen a few times. She then advanced on Rose, who stiffened, ready. But all Bonnie did was hold out the tablet device in front of Rose's face. When she focused on it, everything made sense. On the screen was a picture of the alien the team, including Andrew, had found in the wreckage yesterday. As absurd as it sounded, it looked like maybe it was their child. She had no idea how that could happen, but it seemed plausible. It had a similar skin hue, but was much bigger. But it had similar features. 

Rose took a stab in the dark. “I’m sorry, is that your baby? It's at Torchwood, and maybe we can work something out." Then after thinking for a second, "Is that why you took me?” 

In response,Bonnie even seemed to get more upset. She pulled back the tablet like she was going to strike Rose with it. Rose scrunched down but the blow never came. She opened her eyes to see Clyde holding Bonnie’s arm; for whatever reason he had stopped her. By the look of it, the damage would have been great. Rose let out a breath. She had been spared… for now. 

Rose watched as the two turned, now interested in something outside. They started jabbering excitedly amongst themselves. All at once they stopped. An amplified voice came from outside. It seemed to come from beneath them, furthering her hypothesis that they were up a story.

Rose’s heart sang when she heard the voice. “This is Torchwood, we have your child, and he is in good condition. We will exchange him for your hostage. You have 30 minutes to decide.” The message was repeated three different times in other languages, she recognized them as common alien ones, but with no translator she assumed they said the same thing. It was the first voice that made her happy. It was Andrew, he was close. Rose sat up a little straighter. They had found her and it was nearly time to go home. She also wondered where the Doctor was. Hopefully he could have lent a hand; he was an expert in nearly everything. Most likely they had not allowed him to come, but maybe he argued his way in, if he could come up with the words. 

Would he have the words? He certainly was learning quickly. Being a genius was good for something. Even in the few hours that they had spent together, before it all went pear shaped, he had been doing so much better. They were able to start to have somewhat normal conversations. 

He had been there just a few days. In that time he had learned to speak, not only that, he was understanding. It was astonishing really. She wondered how soon he would begin to work at Torchwood, then what it would be like to see him everyday again. It seemed like they had been making up some ground. The day together had solidified that. And that hug. It was amazing, what she needed for sure. But then, as always, there was fallout. Now Andrew was mad. She felt like she had to defend herself to him. But was it just a hug. It had felt so right. It was a mistake to do it in public though. Now the media had it. She closed her eyes. The indecision the lack of information, the lack of time itself between them was killing her. Now she sat in some abandoned warehouse, in danger, no closer to knowing who she wanted to be with when it was all over. 

She almost chuckled. Fear should be gripping her. But instead she was perseverating on her love triangle. The old Rose wouldn't have been able to do that. But this Rose, the one that was accustomed to fighting for what she wanted, could separate herself. She wasn't the same girl he had met in the basement of Henrick's. But yet he stayed with her. Then it hit her. He helped shape who she was, he tapped into an unknown part of her, one that was smart, inquisitive and bold. It had been there all along, but in their travels, he helped bring it out. She was proud of who she was now. That was the link. That was what drew him to her. He was there for the origin of Rose Tyler, badass. And he wanted to be there for the next chapter too. And now she knew. She wanted to be there with him too. 

Bonnie hustled up to Rose, breaking her out of her thoughts. She held the tablet in front of her and a red beam came out of the side of it, roving up and down Rose. She then stepped back and punched a few things on the screen. The color of the beam changed to white and an image of Rose sitting on the tarps was displayed before them in holograph form. Bonnie turned off the picture, and then they went back to the window. 

They must want to communicate with Torchwood. That was a good thing. Her training told her to stay put. If she escaped now he would be in the line of fire. All she wanted to do though was run out to Andrew and hopefully the Doctor too. What were the chances he would be there. She hoped they were good. OoOoOoOoOn the street level, Torchwood had amassed a large quantity of resources. Barricades were up as well as a command post down the street. Andrew and the Doctor, along with fifteen other team members were behind a concrete wall peering out at the building in front of them. The infrared had picked up three heat signatures as well as other scanners had gotten readings on the energy from the ship. Andrew now held a tablet with the images of warm bodies moving around on it. Well to be precise, two bodies moving, one sitting still. 

From their vantage point they could see the aliens moving along the bank of windows. They seemed agitated. Then, right in front of the building, a hologram appeared. All movement stilled on the ground. It was an image and it was of Rose. She was seated with her hands behind her back; she looked like she may have blood or something on the side of her head but looked generally OK. Both men took a breath. After everything that had happened from the beginning, they still had the same goal. Get Rose back.

"They have her." the Doctor said, eyes glued to the image.

"I see that. She looks mostly alright. Her eyes are open." He got on his radio. "I need a live feed of the baby to project, can we do that? We need to move quickly before we lose the light."

The response on the radio was affirmative. The Doctor hoped that George was happy. If so, the situation would be better for Rose. If he was upset, they may think he was being mistreated rather than maybe having a dirty nappy. 

The men hunkered down again to wait. The Doctor absent mindedly rubbed his wrist. Pain was pretty new. It wasn't like he had never had it before, but not in this body. He also used to tolerate it better and heal much faster. From what he knew of humans, fractures took about eight weeks to heal. That was way, way too long. Now without even the medical care on the TARDIS, and of course the healing properties of a full Time Lord, he may have to endure every day of that. There was no way to tell. All he could do was hope he had enough Time Lord in him for this to fix itself quickly.

He clunked his head back on the wall. That was dumb. His head still ached as well as his ear, wrist and leg. He was a mess too. There was blood all over his sweatshirt, and the leg of his pants was torn. He was still covered in dirt too. He tried to dust himself off to no avail. He ended up just pulling down his sleeve to cover the brace. The less Rose saw of this train wreck the better. 

He felt eyes on him. Andrew was grinning. "You look like shit. Trying to hide anything is not going to work. Rose will freak when she sees you. You just got on this world and here you go bleeding all over the place. And that limp you have is terrible. But by all means, keep getting hurt, it makes me look better.” The Doctor eyed him. “OK relax, I’m kidding. Anyway, I’d make you go back to Torchwood for treatment, but it’s not worth the fight.’

“You’re right,” answered the Doctor with a laugh. ”How long until George gets here?”

“George?” Andrew raised an eyebrow. 

“The baby, I named him George.”

“Of course you did, he’ll be here in a minute. He was close, but we want to show an image before we do to assure them he is OK.” Just as Andrew said that, a crew arrived with a 3-D projector. They placed it on the wall and put the image in the middle of the street in full view of the building. George sat there waving something gleefully in the air. Upon closer examination, it was a basketball, now deflated. The Doctor smiled, George looked happy. Someone had managed to get a shirt on him too. That was a brave soul. 


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The rescue. This is the last chapter before it all goes to heck, so enjoy!

There was a disturbance at the window. Bonnie was jumping up and down and screeching. Clyde joined in, and then they turned in unison towards Rose. A feeling of dread seeped into Rose’s stomach. What now? Both of the aliens walked over and took one of Rose’s arms, jerking her to standing. It hurt again, but not as bad. Maybe her ribs weren’t broken, as she had originally thought. Her legs were a little wobbly at first, but they held her tight. They descended the stairs together mostly holding her up. Bonnie threatened her again and again. Well, Rose assumed they were threats, since she would say something harsh and then squeeze Rose’s arm harder. That was definitely going to leave a mark. It occurred to Rose that Bonnie was the leader of the pair. She was physically larger and Clyde seemed to do what she told him. It wouldn’t have surprised her if Bonnie had been the one who came in and struck her while she was in the bag.  
  
Once on the ground floor, they took up positions on either side of the door facing out. Clyde opened it quickly and they held Rose there, blinking in the light of the day, for a few moments, then pulled her back and closed the door. 

OoOoOoOoOo  
It was Andrew’s turn to peer over the wall. The Doctor was sitting below watching a live feed of George, checking on him. 

“There she is!” Andrew stage whispered, causing the Doctor to nearly drop the tablet scrambling to look. Indeed Rose was in the doorway of the building about 50 meters away. Upon seeing her, all the Doctor’s pain melted away. She looked tired and grubby, but more beautiful than ever. Then she was pulled back. Both men scrunched down again. 

Andrew had his radio out right away. “Bring out the baby; it’s time for the exchange.”

“What now?” asked the Doctor, still reeling from his vision of Rose. 

“I think if we bring George out and start walking towards them, they will bring out Rose too. They look like they are ready for an exchange. It’s weird though, why did they fire on us like that then do nothing else?”

“I think they were scared,” the Doctor answered. “They were afraid that we were going to hurt their baby. It was a show… like to see that they were not playing.”

“You mean a show of force?” Andrew inquired. 

“Yes, thanks.” He has quiet for a moment. He should have learned the “force” word from earlier. But now his head hurt, and it was getting difficult to assimilate new words. He sincerely hoped he hadn’t stopped learning. 

A large truck backed up out of view of the alien’s building. The back door rolled up to reveal George seated in a chair that looked like it had been constructed just for him. The wonders of having a full staff, the Doctor mused. It was like a wheelchair, just bigger and stronger with thick webbing straps holding him in. George squealed at the sight of the Doctor, flinging his deflated ball at him. 

He and Andrew successfully dodged the projectile and the Doctor approached the baby, making soothing sounds. The crew that had been in the back of the truck looked battered and exhausted, they undid the locks holding the chair in. They were happy to be relieved of their duty for sure and disappeared quickly. A ramp had been pulled out so that George could be rolled out. 

Andrew approached whispering, ”Doctor, are you sure you want to go out there? You can barely walk and they could fire at you again. I’ll do it.”

Before the Doctor could answer, George made it clear that he did not like Andrew. He started flinging himself around in the chair, arms flailing. Then he started to wail. Andrew made a hasty retreat and the baby calmed. Especially when the Doctor produced a large cookie that was handed to him by the last remaining crew member in the truck. This one had been behind the chair out of the line of fire. 

Now chewing on the cookie, George was content again. Asking the crew member for a hand (literally), they wheeled George out of the truck and to the edge of the wall. The Doctor leaned on the chair for support, his limp worsening with each step. His leg was killing him; the gash had been deep enough to cut the muscle clear down to the bone. Now that he was up it was exponentially worse. 

He inched George around the wall. It didn’t seem right to push a baby out first, but if he had stepped out first he was liable to be shot. At least if they recognized George there was a chance. As they rounded the corner the crew member bailed out, leaving the Doctor to try to push the chair alone. He gave in to the limp in order to push the chair with his body and left hand. It rolled relatively easily but the load was heavy and wiggly. He stopped at half the distance, more to rest than anything, but also to see that the aliens would do. 

He came alongside George, who promptly wiped wet cookie on him. Then he waited.

The door across the way slowly opened and Rose tentatively stepped out. Something was hunched behind her, prodding her along. Rose looked him up and down, raising her eyebrows, but wore a smile. He just grinned both in response and because he was deliriously happy to see her. As they inched closer, he could see that she was injured too. She had a wound near her right temple and was walking gingerly, like her ribs hurt. That was corroborated by her shallow breathing. In all the time he had spent with her he learned a few things, one of them was to listen and watch her closely. Her body language spoke volumes. 

His relief in seeing her was quickly washed away with his anger at the beings that had dared lay a hand on her. It took everything he had to not pull her to safety and unleash his rage on what was behind her. He was actually quite confident he knew the race behind this though, and could almost feel the gun, or worse, missile, site trained on his chest. 

The Doctor took a couple of steps, trying not to limp but failing, in front of George. He carefully unhooked the baby, dodging the hands and arms, but finally succumbing to a crushing hug. 

When he got himself out and turned, Rose had stopped walking. She thought she saw a quick expression cross his face, it looked like agony, but then his face went stony. Rose tried to read him, but couldn’t. 

Slowly the alien stepped out from behind Rose. The Doctor recognized the species right away. He had been right with his original assumption. The one that stepped out was female. She eyed him as he stepped out of the way. 

George nearly came undone when he finally saw his mother. He squeaked and squealed, kicking and moving his arms. Bonnie looked like she couldn’t hold it in anymore and ran to her son, closing the distance between them with impressive speed, then holding him tight. She then actually heaved him up over her shoulder, turned and walked back, leaving the Doctor and Rose without another look. 

As they watched them leave, they both took quick steps together. But rather than the tight hug Rose expected, she got a weak one. Then he made like he was also going to scoop her up in his arms but halted just short. Instead he looked into her eyes and grabbed both her hands. “Hello.”

“Hi,” she grinned back, noting something on his right hand, impeding a full grab. 

“Tell me you’re alright, please,“ he pleaded, catching her attention again. 

Still taken aback by his lack of affection she answered quietly, ”Yes I’m OK, a little sore but OK.”

“I’m glad, c’mon.” He smiled and turned, holding her right hand with his left. She caught site of the mound of gauze stuck to the side of his head, plus his obvious limp. He was pale too, his normally pink cheeks had turned more ashen in color. 

“Are you OK? Doctor what happened? Why are you all bandaged?”

“Oh I’m better than alright now that I have you, Rose Tyler. I just got too close to, well a big…” He winced. “I don’t know. Can we just go?” He held out his left hand limply to her, and she took it.

Rose didn’t know how to take him. With each step he grew slower. She almost thought she would have to help him. She was overjoyed and relieved that he came out to get her with the baby. It looked like they had made friends too, the way it reacted to him. It was like a punch to the gut when she saw his head all wrapped, and then as she got closer saw the blood on his shirt. 

On top on the, now he seemed distant. Even though a hug would have hurt, she craved it. It was his thing. Had something happened in the explosion, had he been in it? She wanted to ask but felt he wouldn’t answer. It felt like the progress they had made the day before had melted away. On top of it, there was something wrong with her Doctor. Hers, the one in front of her. Yes now she saw it, he was her Doctor. One of two of the same man, the man she wanted to spend the rest of her time with. 

But now he was off somehow. Had she looked back at that moment she would have had an answer. He was leaving a bloody footprint every time he put his left leg down. It was taking everything he had to bring her back.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This may sting a little.

Rose and the Doctor rounded the wall hand in hand and were met by a swarm of agents. Most notably Andrew who promptly did what the Doctor yearned to do; he picked her up into his arms, holding her close. He walked away toward the medical setup with her, their faces very close. 

The Doctor sighed; he had wanted nothing more than to do that himself. He wanted to hug her like before then carry her back. The problem was that when as he walked out, he felt something let loose in his leg and then felt the spreading warmth of blood. He soaked through his bandage in no time. Then when George grabbed him, he wrenched his injured wrist. He actually felt a crunch when it happened and it took all he had to not scream in pain. There was no way he could have picked her up for fear of dropping his precious Rose. It killed him to not tell her, but it wasn’t the time or place for that. She was alive and that was all that mattered. 

He glanced back to Andrew holding Rose. They had gotten closer if that was possible. Andrew’s forehead was against hers. Then he leaned in, pulling her into a passionate kiss. The agents around them cheered loudly. 

The Doctor pressed his left hand against the wall to steady himself. He was dizzy now, head pounding. He spied a nearby agent. “Can you take me back to Torchwood? I need the doctors.” 

“Yes sir, but we have a medical station set up.”

No, can you just take me back?” The agent shrugged and motioned for him to follow. He uttered something into his radio and they got into the closest SUV and were off. 

The Doctor leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He didn’t even look back at Rose. It was time to move on, it was clear who won. 

OoOoOo  
When Rose came around the corner she was swept up before she knew it. Andrew had been right there. She didn’t have a chance to react before he had her. It felt good to be up and held tight, but wrong at the same time. But the relief of seeing him and the other agents was like a tide washing over her. He had scooped her up so fast and she let him. He was telling her how worried he was and how happy he was to see her, smiling through his own tears of relief. 

He was so close to her and before she knew it, his lips were on hers. Then everything came rushing out, the fear, the pain, the relief, and it all went into their kiss. He was aggressive and she was accepting. The events of the past days had come to a head and it was like a purge. Mouth on mouth, she gripped his hair he held her tight. When she came up for air she realized what had just happened, pushing him off. Andrew stayed close though, his breath heaving. Next he gently set her down on a table in the medical area. Rose had no idea they had traveled so far, it was at least a block away from the incident. Just how long had that snog lasted, and how in the world did he navigate there?

Suddenly she felt quite embarrassed for the display of affection in front of everyone. Wait everyone? Reality came slamming down. Where was the Doctor? She shook her head, trying to push out the exhaustion that was creeping in and clouding her thoughts now that the adrenaline was wearing off. Looking around, she saw she was the only patient in the tent. Medics were swarming around her asking questions. Portable lights were being turned on and shone in her face, she turned away until they were adjusted. She hadn't even noticed the sun went down. 

“Hold up!” She put a hand up while everyone silenced. “Where is the Doctor? He’s injured. He should be seen too.”  
The head medic held up a radio. ”I just heard that he had someone take him back to Torchwood.”

OoOoOoOoOo

Back at Torchwood, the Doctor was met by a medical team. They had him on a gurney and in the medical wing before he could even think to protest. After a brief assessment of his injuries the doctor stepped back. 

“Well Doctor, you have a few things I have to fix, but first some questions.”  
“OK.”

“First, how on earth did you mangle that wrist while it was in a brace? After your initial assessment by my field team they patched in an update. They said it was stable and aligned.”

“It’s a long story that has a giant baby and a hug.” The Doctor shrugged. 

“OK, well there’s that. Do you have any drug allergies or strange reactions? I should know about?”

“Again a long story, but I was can’t take umm… I don’t know what it is called. It’s little and white and people take it for pain. It’s not for big pain.”

“Well there are a few.”

“Can you show a picture of the chemical makeup? I don’t even know if you have that drug here.”

The medical doctor was patient enough to look up each of the drugs he planned on giving the Doctor. They agreed on what would work and what to avoid. He also called in a specialist to sew the ear back together, but would take on the leg wound himself. They also agreed the part Time Lord would get an IV to replace fluids and also so they could sedate him to set his wrist. The entire process would take hours to complete. Before too long it would be dawn on his fifth day.   
OoOoOoO

Rose was treated and released from the medical station on site. She had bruises, and impressive bruises at that, on her chest and a laceration on her head that could be glued. A handy portable x-ray scanner, no doubt alien tech, helped determine that she did not have broken ribs. 

Torchwood kept a presence in the area and the street blocked until they could try again to contact the aliens. They didn’t need to, it turns out. About an hour after the hostage transfer the bay doors to the building opened and a silver ship hovered out. It rotated, shimmered and blasted straight up into the sky, leaving 30 meter wide crater in the road. 

Seeing the ship shoot into the sky, Andrew turned to Rose. “I guess that’s it. They’re gone.” Rose couldn’t help but think something else was gone too. She wondered what he had seen. The weight of the kiss hurt more than her injuries. She hadn't intended on it. It just happened. There was no passion behind it, at least on her side. She knew what she wanted now. But he was not around to tell. 

The on scene investigation was far from over. Specialized agents swarmed the building to collect anything they could, as well as taking energy readings. Andrew directed some of it, then passed it off to another agent. 

Shortly thereafter, Rose and Andrew were shuttled back to Torchwood to debrief as much as possible before being released home. Pete met them there. Rose asked time and time again after the Doctor. The updates didn’t hold much information other than that he was being treated. She desperately wanted to talk to him, find out what was going on, but things demanded her attention and every time she tried to break away she was stopped. 

Finally, hours later, as the sun was peeking over the horizon, Pete went with her to the medical wing. 

They came across the medical doctor in the hallway. Pete approached first. “We’re here to see the Doctor. Is he sleeping?”

“I wish,” shrugged the doctor, ”he’s insisting on going home. I just sent for transport. He’s still hypovolemic from the loss of blood and I’ve only been able to get a few litres of fluid in him.”

“Is he OK though?” asked Rose. 

“Oh I think so, I set his wrist, and it was nasty. I think it is stable now though. I don’t think it will require surgery. Then I had a specialist sew his ear back on. Actually he had pretty good circulation where it was attached still, but it took a lot to get it on right. I did his leg also. That took forever. I think he got a total of fifty stitches in his leg, they were all internal, and then I put a line of staples on the outside. Then the other physician said he used about twenty to reattach the ear. All in all he’s a mess, but he should heal well. I need him back after the swelling goes down to get a proper cast on.”

“I’ll be sure he gets back.” Pete said, “He’s not one for medical stuff, but I’ll make sure he gets here.”

“Thank you, and make sure he rests. I’m concerned with him wanting to get out of here.”

“Thanks doctor, I know it took a lot of time to get him fixed up. I’m sure he talked your ear off.” Rose chimed in, smiling.

“Actually no, he didn’t talk really at all. He answered a few questions for me be that was it. He was silent for hours. Most people even talk with sedation, but no, and that only lasted about fifteen minutes. He came out of if very quickly.”

Silent? Rose could not believe her ears. This was a man who could talk for hours with an inanimate object if he wanted. She’d personally seen him make conversation with a mushroom, to his credit though, it had talked back. 

“Can I see him?” she asked, now chewing her thumb. A heaviness had descended on her stomach. He had seemed out of sorts before, but now she was sure. Something was definitely wrong. 

“Absolutely, I imagine his car will be here shortly though. He’s in that room there.” He pointed to a green door. 

Rose left Pete to chat with the Doctor and approached the room that was indicated. She knocked gently on the door, and upon not hearing a response, opened it carefully. 

“Hello Doctor, are you in here?” She opened it a little wider. He sat on the side of the bed, left leg dangling. He was pulling the pant leg of his Torchwood track suit over a puffy bandage on his right leg. He looked up at her when she entered, expressionless, and then a weak smile broke on his lips. He was very, very pale. His clothes were big to begin with, but now he even looked smaller in them. He still wore the t-shirt from before, she could tell because it was still blood stained. His right wrist was dressed in a plaster half-splint wrapped in elastic bandage. She was taken aback a little at his short sleeves, sure she had undressed him before, but still it was unusual. 

“Hi Rose,” he said weakly, “do you mind handing me that sweatshirt?” He pointed to one hanging over the back of a nearby chair. 

“Yeah sure.” She grabbed it. “It’s all bloody, do you want to get you a new one?”

“No thanks.” He took it from her and started to struggle a little with it. She tried to take it and help him, but he waved her off, quickly pulling it over his head, careful not to pull off his ear bandage, and jamming his left arm in. He then gingerly put in his right one, but didn’t bother to poke his hand through the hole, leaving the sleeve to cover his fingers. 

Rose sat next to him on the bed and couldn’t help but notice him stiffen and maybe lean a little away. She tried not to let her disappointment show. “So I hear you got a million stitches?” she asked, giving him the tongue touched smile. 

He couldn’t help but give a little smile back. Nowhere near his usual one, but one none the less. “Yeah, I think I used up all the…” he stopped, not knowing the next word.

“Thread?” she asked.

“Yeah sure.” He turned his head to stare blankly ahead. 

They sat together for a few moments, each lost in thought.  
  
Rose was the first to speak, ”Doctor, are you OK?”

“I'm always OK. I’m hurting now but I’ll get better.”

“No, I mean you, you don’t seem right, like you’re not you. I don’t know.” She sniffed. 

He turned to her then looked away. She couldn’t help but notice his Adams apple bob. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m me, I’m fine. I only have one me to be. I’ve told you that." Rose flinched a little with the harshness of his tone. He turned back, face softer now. "I'm sorry..." 

Just then a tech stuck his head through the door. "Your ride is here Doctor."  
The Doctor nodded at the man and started to stand. Rose caught his arm and sat him down again. "You were saying Doctor..."

He let out a heavy sigh. "Rose, I can't really talk now. I'm too tired and my head is pounding." This time he did stand, adjusting the sweat bottoms around his waist. There were crutches leaning on the wall. He eyed them then turned away, limping towards the door. 

"Doctor, you know we need to talk. If not now, then when...Doctor?"

He stopped suddenly, facing her full on, face hard, and jaw clenched. "Answer me this. You keep calling me Doctor, but do you believe it? I don't think you do. And until you do, any talk we have is no good.“ He stared at her and she could feel his eyes burrowing into her head. Then he relaxed a little and he just looked exhausted. "I know where I stand now Rose, I'll be OK. Now I have to ask you for some space. You won't have to worry about me. I'll not stand in your way." With that he opened the door and limped out. 

Rose sat there on the bed in stunned silence. She desperately wanted to tell him that she saw him as her Doctor but faced with him at that moment, when he was so angry, it didn't come out. She chastised herself. Why didn't she just say it? Maybe because if she had he wouldn't have believed it. Images of her kiss with Andrew flew to her mind. No she would have to show him. And not now. He was wounded now, emotionally and physically. Not to mention probably beyond exhausted. No, she would find a time. She would prove it to him.   
OoOoOoO

In the car the Doctor held his head in his hands. He had never intended on lashing out at Rose like that. He was just so tired and in so much pain. He wasn't used to any of this. His other body felt things differently. It was unfair. Here he was stuck with no TARDIS, only half a Time Lord body, and now no Rose. 

Maybe Torchwood wouldn’t be a good place to start working. Maybe he could talk about getting a loan and travelling, learning new languages. He would be an asset to any university knowing several languages. If the rate at which he picked up English was any indication, he would be fluent in at least six new ones in a few months. Then he could teach, travel the globe and explore. It was the best he could do here on earth. Sure he had the TARDIS coral, but it would take time, and there was so much to do here, at least for now. It was clear now, his adventure was out there, and Rose Tyler or not, he needed to find it. She had made her choice now he needed to make his. Maybe he could work something out with Pete. Maybe work a little, get money, then he would be off. 

Putting himself into bed that was his last thought. Time to move ahead, to try to squeeze everything he could out of this world. The adventure he thought he would have with Rose was no longer an option, so it was time to find a new one. He just wished he had someone to share it with as he originally thought he would. He closed no doors though. Burned bridges helped no one. Maybe some day Rose would be in his life and it killed him that she didn't choose him. He had still been stunned when she came to see him. His processing of the situation was much slower with all the pain. 

He made a decision right there. If she ever wanted to be in his life, he would let her. The pain that that brought he would just have to bear.


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought we should move ahead! I did a lot of editing this weekend, so you get to reap the rewards.

Rose somehow made it home to her flat just before 8 in the morning. Andrew wasn't there but it looked like he may have been there at some time. Mainly because a few more of his things were missing. Rose breathed deeply. The the massive weight of everything threatened to flatten her. But yet she was too exhausted to think. Blindly she flopped onto the bed, barely able to kick her shoes off. She was asleep seconds later.

Despite the fatigue, Rose didn't sleep well. Perhaps it was because when her eyes closed, her brain woke up. Though she slept, her brain picked apart every little but of her life. Being with Andrew, their first night together, the cannon, the beach. Then him. He was there now. She could feel him, smell him, but he turned away from her. 

She woke hours later, not sure why. She was very sore, her chest hurt, her entire body hurt. But she laid there silently, just breathing, trying to see what had woken her. Then, "Rose? Are you awake?" It was Andrew. 

She hadn't opened her eyes yet, she could feign sleep. But it was time to face it. "Yes, I'm awake," she answered groggily. 

Andrew came in the room and she felt the felt the bed dip down as he sat at her feet. She pulled the covers up to her chin, not to hide, but as a matter of comfort. 

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," he said back. His voice was tired. "Did you go see the Doctor?"

"Yeah."

"Is he alright?"

This gave Rose pause. Why did he want to know? After a beat she answered, "I suppose. I mean he looked like hell." She took another breath. "He didn't really want to talk to me. He asked for space." The last bit made her voice crack. 

Andrew shifted on the bed to face her but didn't come any closer. His movement made her lift her gaze to his. For the first time she saw him. His face was drawn. He looked beyond tired, the kind of exhausted that came with emotional pain and lack of sleep. 

"Have you slept?" she asked. 

"No," he murmured. He waited another moment, "I talked to him, you know."

"You did?"

"Yeah we were out looking for you and he insisted."

Rose waited. 

Andrew continued,"What did he say to you?"

"He said that he knew where he stood now. He didn't want to talk. Andrew, I... I think he saw us kiss. I think...I think it hurt him. I didn't-"

"Me neither."

Rose's eyes widened. 

Andrew reached out and put his hand on her foot over the covers, playing with the duvet. "Rose, he's a decent guy. I can only imagine what it was like. It has to be rough. You two were in love. And after it all, he was dropped here, with you, only to find out that not only did you move on with your life, but he couldn't even explain himself. But I've seen him now. He's incredibly intelligent. He knows what's up. I saw him in action. He will be a huge asset to Torchwood."

Andrew paused. 

Rose leaned forward. "Andrew, what are you saying?"

He looked away from her face to the floor. After a deep breath, his words came out measured but rough. "I think you need to go to him. This is what your life revolved around for years. You lived it, it was your lifeblood. If you don't give it a chance, you're going against something you almost gave your life for." He looked back up at her and for the first time ever, she saw he was crying. 

Rose couldn't help it, tears sprung to her eyes. She swung her legs out off the bed and sat next to him. "Andrew, I don't know where I am. It hasn't even been a week. And there's been so much going on-"

"We met because you were looking for him. And now you've found him. You need to be there for him. I'm not going anywhere. But you have to give it a chance. I'm not saying for you to run out right now, but if he needs time, give it. But be there. You owe it to yourself. He's a good man. And if it wasn't for him I'd never have met you."

Rose stifled a sob and she felt his hand on her shoulder. "I can't do this without hurting someone. I hate this!"

"Rose, you made it clear to me from the very beginning where you stood. This would be a very different conversation if he wasn't a good person. But he is. I'll be around, for a while."

"What are you saying?" she sobbed. 

"I'm saying that you should go to him. Well, technically I'm saying that I will not stand in your way or give you a hard time about it. You have to follow your heart. If your heart leads you back to me, I'll understand. If not, I'll also understand. This can't be an easy decision for you, no matter what happens. I want to take away the burden of my insistence. I know that you need to make a decision and it's not fair for me to force anything on you."

This time Rose started to cry in earnest. This was so selfless of Andrew. His arms surrounded her and held her tight as she sobbed. He held her like this for hours neither of them talking. Several hours later he left with a kiss on her head. She squeezed her eyes shut then but sleep didn't come. 

OoOoO

Once back at the mansion, the Doctor limped in. All he wanted to do was stumble up to bed, but was afraid he couldn't sleep. Seeing Rose kiss Andrew flew to his vision every time he closed his eyes. Then she had to come in. Nothing was concrete in his head and there she stood in front of him. She had wanted to talk. He had no sleep aside from being put under to straighten his arm, and talking was the very last thing he wanted to do, much less be capable of. Even his decision to keep the possibility of her coming back hurt. He figured it was less than his chance of winning the lottery after never buying a ticket. 

Jackie intercepted him as he came in the door, bustling him into the kitchen where she proceeded to force feed him. Tony came in and sat next to him quietly, clearly reading the room. The Doctor, even in his exhausted state, marveled at this boy's ability to have a feel for the situation. Though it was entirely possible he had been briefed. None the less, his company was nice. 

Soon after, a very tired Pete joined them, filling in the Doctor about the aliens and their ship and the launch. That confirmed the sound the Doctor heard as he was being examined. He thought he had heard a launch, but there was no one to confirm it. 

"Doctor, I want you to rest, but I've not seen you work up close before."

The Doctor raised an eyebrow. 

Pete smiled and shook his head. "Well I guess I've not been able to work with you, really. But what I wanted to tell you was just how impressed I was. I'm sorry, Are you getting all this?"

"Yes, well most, but I've got it."

"What I'm trying to say is that we all said that you could work at Torchwood, but now I see what a asset you will be. Today I'd like you to rest. Tomorrow I'll take you for a personal tour. I think the archives will be a great place you you to start, but who knows where that will lead. We'll also do identity things tomorrow. You'll need paperwork, a driver's license, passport and and all that. Have you put any thought to a legal name? "

The Doctor shook his head ruefully. This had never even crossed his mind. "I suppose I could go with John Smith or James McCrimmon. I have used both."

"Well think on it. I also have something else for you." Pete got up.

The Doctor's eyes followed him until he disappeared into the next room. He came back moments later carrying something heavy. The Doctor's eyes widened. 

He didn't have a word for it. 

Pete laid it on the chair next to him with a clunk. It was an ax. 

The Doctor looked up guiltily. "I'm guessing this is for the tree."

Pete nodded slowly. "Listen, I get it. Everything that has happened to you. You needed an outlet. I'm not mad. But I thought that when you figure this all out, you can have some closure. So no hurry. I mean, that tree was half dead anyway. Also, if you get to the point where you want to talk to anyone, I'm here, so is Jackie. Or if you want more professional help, I can arrange that."

The Doctor smiled at that. "Thank you. I'm trying to figure it all out still. This body, my now less Time Lord brain. I also have more anger than before. Or maybe it's the same amount of anger, but it comes on faster."

"It happens, and you are entitled to it. So, I'll come get you tomorrow at 7:30 and take you to Torchwood. Are you OK, to walk all that way?"

"I have no idea," the Doctor deadpanned. 

Pete laughed. "OK, I'll keep the walking t0 a minimum. And dress for an ID picture."

The Doctor nodded, and turned to Tony, sitting silently beside him all this time. "I have to go and sleep now."

The boy nodded and tried to help with the axe, but finally the Doctor took it, tucked it under his arm and made his way to his bedroom. He leaned the ax next to the window. Now was not the time, but maybe soon. 

Seconds later, he climbed into bed and fell asleep, only waking for a few hours around dinner, then sleeping again until morning. 

OoOoOo

Twenty four hours after he walked into the mansion after one of the worst days/nights of his life, he certainly was racking them up as of late, the Doctor walked into Torchwood again. This time he was there to start his new life. Funny, he thought it would have been with Rose. But as things did, that changed. 

Torchwood was an expansive building. It's lobby alone was enormous. So it didn't look odd at all for there to be a cart, like a golf cart, waiting for them just inside. The driver was a perky young intern named Joe, who looked more than excited to be driving the director of Torchwood around. There were plenty of "Good morning sir" and anything you need sir" to go around. The Doctor saw Pete flinch more than once. The Doctor felt a little uncomfortable getting on the cart, but Pete encouraged him, saying that walking even to the first destination was hundreds of meters. So begrudgingly, the Doctor agreed. He would never had said it, but it hurt a lot to walk with his leg wound so secretly he was happy to see some kind of transport waiting. 

Pete stuck a "VISITOR" sticker to the front of the Doctor's suit (the one Rose had not seen yet, the other one that had caused so much strife was in temporary seclusion.)

The first stop was for official credentials. The Doctor was fingerprinted , and had iris scans(which he resisted) and pictures. Next came the hard part, went to the keyboard on the computer and started typing. "I'm putting my address in for now. But we need a name. 

The Doctor vacillated. John or James? It was a hard choice. It was something he would be called for the rest of his life, at least until he corrected people to call him "Doctor". 

"Um, John Smith I suppose," he uttered. 

"OK, " Pete said, "Doctor John Smith, come here, I'll need your signature on the pad."

The Doctor stopped. "Pete-"

The tech that was in the room with them looked confused. 

Pete reddened a little. "I'm sorry." He turned to the tech. "He'll come in soon for a signature, he, um has an injury." That was only half right. 

The source of the Doctor's embarrassment was simple. He hadn't written the name yet, let alone signed it. 

The tech just shrugged and handed over a new lanyard and a new ID card, fresh from the printer. The Doctor hung it around his neck to Pete's smile. 

When no one was looking the Doctor shook his head at how surreal it all was. He felt a pang in his stomach then, wishing he could share the absurdity with the only one that would get it, Rose. He shook that off and got back in the cart. 

After a tour of the facility, during which the Doctor saw several other carts like theirs, they made it to the archives. 

Upon the entrance of their boss, the staff inside dropped what they were doing and came over. The Doctor was face with two fresh faced young people in their late twenties, identified as Carl and Carol. 

"Ah, the two 'C's!" the Doctor enthused, both in the excitement of meeting them and recognizing the letters on their credentials. 

"Doctor Smith," they both acknowledged with nods. 

"Oh, no, that won't do, just call me Doctor. Use it as a name, like um, Joe."

"OK..." they both said, assimilating. They both looked at him carefully, eyes travelling up and down. Neither spoke. 

The Doctor could tell that they had been briefed. He decided to hit it head on. "I know I look a little a little, um bad. I was in an explosion. Did they tell you about me?"

They both nodded. 

"And you know, I am learning English-"

They both nodded again and the Doctor wondered if possibly they were only one person. But then Carol spoke. "It's OK Doctor, sometimes we think Carl is learning English too." She smirked at her counterpart. 

Everyone laughed at that. They all made their way into the archives, both Carl and Carol pointing things out. 

The Doctor looked at things, corrected a few things, told them they would revisit a few things when he had words to better explain them. 

They were nearing the back and Pete had stopped to answer a call when the Doctor halted. "Carl, Carol, where is the rest of this?" he asked holding up a device about the size of a spray bottle, but it looked like it was missing its sprayer. 

Pete meandered over to look. 

Carl spoke up,"We don't know what that is. I honestly didn't know that it was only part of it. It was recovered in Italy, Naples specifically. The agents brought it back from a callout. It doesn't seem to do much."

"That's because it's missing the top," the Doctor said. 

"What does the top do?" Pete asked. 

"This...thing was made to kill animals for eating. But it's um, not allowed anymore. It would be used in fights, big fights. It would, um, make it the other people that were fighting couldn't move, then the person could walk up and kill them."

Carl and Carol gave quizzical looks, but Pete nodded. He was getting good at understanding that the Doctor was getting at. "So it is banned because it would paralyze the enemies, so they were alive but frozen. Then they would be killed? "

"That's barbaric," Carl said. 

The Doctor nodded, turning it over in hand. "We can find the other piece easy enough. It has an energy to it. It won't be strong though, this is the main power part. It wouldn't do much, but will could be dangerous."

"Thank you Doctor, we'll look into it immediately," Pete said, "Why don't you stay down her for a few more hours? I know you have to be tired still. I'll have Joe here come pick you up and have a driver take you home. We'll do a full day tomorrow."

At first the Doctor was a little put out by the assumption that he was tired, but in truth he was. He made it through the rest of the tour, even finding a disused lab room that had been used early on for samples. Now that lab's activities had been moved upstairs. That got the Doctor's mind whirling. 

He found that he liked Carl and Carol. They were smart and funny and worked well together. 

By the time Joe came around with the cart, the Doctor was dragging. This time, being zipped along corridors, the Doctor wasn't talking to Pete. Now he had a chance to look around. He kept thinking that he may catch a glimpse of Rose. He hadn't liked how he had left things with her. But he did need space. Having his every thought have her in it made it difficult to concentrate on learning English and working at Torchwood. But it would have been OK just to see her, her smile, maybe wave at her. They would talk soon, after he got settled. If she wanted to talk to him by then.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some progress!

The Doctor found that over the next few days he really liked his job. Though Jackie had figured out to send a car to him daily or he would work too late, getting sucked into one thing or another. 

Being around peers was helping too. His vocabulary grew exponentially and he was starting to make friends with is colleagues. Of course Rose knew all of this, she knew many people there and they all knew her and her situation. News spread fast. But she kept her distance. Like he had asked. With each passing day she wondered if he would call or see her and stop to talk. Maybe that would lead to a much longer talk. 

That never came. Instead she did her work, ran her calls and tried to keep a happy face on. Still everyone knew she had broken it off with Andrew. They also all wondered why she was not with the Doctor. She didn't talk about it and thankfully neither did Andrew. 

They stayed cordial but he also kept his distance. So that left Rose mostly alone. She had her work friends, but never really had gone out with them. This left her with nights alone to think and wonder when or if the Doctor was going to call. 

OoOoOo

On his first weekend away from Torchwood, The Doctor was determined to finish the go-cart. Actually Tony had begged until he acquiesced. So on Saturday he was elbow deep in the engine all day. 

Rose also had the same Saturday off. After lunch she came over to have some tea with her mother and, she hoped, see the Doctor. Maybe, if he was ready she could see him. 

Unfortunately that wasn't the case. Whereas Tony came in from the garage periodically for lemonade and snacks, and Jackie asked him to tell the Doctor to come in, he never did. 

Several times she thought she would just go out and talk to him, but something stopped her. It was his face, the one he gave her when he told her he needed space. The face was burned into her brain. So much so it even made it into her dreams. 

After two hours and no Doctor, she left. 

Inside the garage, the Doctor had no idea she was there. He was so involved in the engine that he didn't even look up for hours. Tony babbled next to him, like usual, but the boy could have said anything, such was the Doctor's concentration. 

Finally when the Doctor went to open the garage door so he would wheel out the go cart and start the engine, he stopped dead in is tracks. Rose's little sporty car was pulling away. He turned to Tony. "Why didn't you tell me Rose was here?" he asked. 

Tony's little shoulders went up in a shrug. "I did. But you kept working. "

That was entirely possible. 

"Oh I wish you would have made me listen. How was she? Was she mad?"

The boy's big blue eyes looked up at him. "I don't know, I think she looked a little sad. She hugged me really tight."

The Doctor let out a slow breath. Now Rose thought he was avoiding her on purpose. That wouldn't do. He would need to talk to her, but how? Should he call? What if she was with Andrew? One thing he had done was memorize her work schedule. It wasn't hard to see it. He had had to go up and provide a signature (after Jackie taught him to write his name then sign it) and he quickly made friends with the woman in HR. She had access to all the work schedules that had to be reported weekly. Rose worked all Sundays, so tomorrow was out. He would find a way though. 

OoOoOo

On Monday the Doctor got to work early as usual. Mid-morning he had to take time to go visit the Torchwood doctor for a follow up and to get a cast on his wrist to replace the splint that had been put on initially. He had vacillated on the color to choose and finally went with a bright blue one. Why not? His ear was coming along well too. The stiches would come out soon. He may not even have much of a scar. His leg was another story. His resistance to using crutches had slowed the healing. Even though he seemed to heal much faster than most humans, he had a ways to go. He was under strict instructions to walk as little as possible. That put looking for Rose on hold. 

As it was, he found himself in the lunchroom with Carl and Carol. They had a lively lunch together. He joined them late after getting his head literally stuck in a piece of equipment. So they made him stay and finish his lunch while they went back. 

He sat there, finishing his crisps when he looked up to see a vision. Rose Tyler was in line, utterly engrossed in her phone. She had no idea he was there. She looked to be in a hurry, having answered two phone calls while she was in line. She also looked a little perturbed. 

Perhaps this wasn't the time. He watched her from across the room. Even annoyed, her movements had grace. She smiled at the servers and thanked them, the picture of politeness. The Doctor smile despite himself. The urge was too strong for him to resist. 

When she turned and surveyed the room, her eyes landed on his, hers widened and she froze. Instantly his heart leapt then plummeted. 

Desperately trying to salvage, he put on a wide smile and motioned her over.

Rose looked in both directions to see if perhaps he was asking someone else?

"Me?" she mouthed.

That stung him even harder. "Yes you Rose," he mouthed back, nodding, beckoning her again. 

Rose made her way over, setting her tray in front of her on the table. "Hi Doctor," she said. 

Those words, as shy as they may have sounded, were music to his ears. "Hi Rose."

The sat in silence for a few moments. Rose nervously sipped her drink. 

He didn't know where to start. He now had her full attention and he had nothing. 

Finally she fidgeted. "Listen, Doctor, I only have a few minutes for lunch. Is there something you want to say?"

He blurted the first thing that came to his mind. "I didn't know you were there on Saturday."

Her eyes widened.

He let out a little laugh, shaking his head. "Tony says he told me, but I didn't hear him. I would have come in if I knew. I feel bad about that."

"Thank you," she said back, "I honestly thought you were avoiding me."

"Oh no, I couldn't avoid you Rose Tyler. "

"But you wanted space."

There it was. He sighed. "Yes, I did. But that doesn't mean we can't see each other."

Silence fell again. This time Rose broke it. "I like your cast."

He smiled up at her. "The doctor is impressed with me healing. The bones are already knitting. I only have to wear it for about another week. I'll be glad when it's gone. "

"And your ear?"

He turned his head to show her. It still had a loose dressing on it. "The stitches come out tomorrow. I keep it covered because people think it's gross."

Rose let out a little laugh, and he brightened. 

He continued, hoping for more from her. Those little glimpses, as small as they were, were intoxicating. It felt like old times. Her sweet face smiling at him. "My leg is coming along much slower. But that may have to do with my complete inability to sit still."

This got another laugh, to which he giggled too. 

She looked at him, her face happy, before she spoke again. "I have heard stories about the handsome new guy around here, charming everyone, but also with a terrible limp. I can only assume it's you."

"Well they have the limp right," he countered grinning. 

She looked hard at him again. "Your English is really good. You'd never know that you had no words so little time ago."

"Well I have to learn fast, I needed to talk to you."

"Oh?" she blushed. 

"I miss you," he said. 

Her eyes shot to his."But-"

"I know, I said I needed space but I really do miss you. But thank you for doing as I asked. I just thought that it may be the time."

"For what exactly?" she leaned a little forward. 

"For us to talk again. See where we are. I'm ready to move forward, whatever that may mean."

Rose smiled hugely, a twinkle returning to her eye. "I think I'm-" her phone rang. "Sorry I have to get this."

A short conversation ensued, though the Doctor could not hear what was on the other end, he got the gist. She had to go. 

Rose ended the call and looked up at him. "I'm sorry, we have a call. I need to go. Can we talk later?"

He nodded, trying to not show his disappointment. "Of course. I'll be here until six. Come by the archives if you can. After that I'll be at the house."

She nodded, shooting him a quick grin. "I'll do my best. But if I can't find you today, I'll hunt you down."

"I look forward to it," he said.

She grabbed her sandwich off the plate in front of her, tucked her crisp bag under her arm, smiled at him again and turned and jogged away, tossing the rest of her lunch into the bin and tossing the tray on top as she went. 

The Doctor had to sit for minute to recover. This was progress. He couldn't wait until they could be together again. But as he even had that thought, darkness crept in. He didn't know if she was still with Andrew, and where he was in that mix. He had nothing to go on. All he could hope was that she would have good news for him. 

OoOoOo  
The Doctor waited all day in the archive for Rose to appear. He wished he had a phone, he didn’t know why he had to wait for a Torchwood one, it wasn’t like he wasn’t going to adjust it to his needs anyway. Rose didn’t have a normal office either. She had a desk and a phone, and he supposed that he could try to call her there, but she may not be there and would he have to leave a message? What would he say? Plus he didn’t want to bother her. 

So he waited, trying in vain to concentrate. He had taken to using a rolling stool in the expanses of the archive. The floor was smooth and one good push took him quite far. That was in an attempt to let his leg heal. 

When Carl and Carol left for the day he rolled into the lab section of the archive. While they were there he didn’t go in there, but now he was working on something. He didn’t need a lot of questions. 

“Doctor?” a voice called from somewhere out in the main area. 

It was Rose. He tossed down the rag he was using to clean a nozzle and pushed himself out of the door onto the floor. His push was a little too hard and as he sailed out, caught her eye, and smiled, he promptly crashed into a rack.

“Are you OK?” she asked, running to him. 

“Yes, nothing bruised but my ego,” he laughed. 

Rose looked around. “Wow so this is the archives. I’ve heard about it but never made it down here. It’s huge!”

“Yes, I’m afraid it was a little much for Carl and Carol, they do a decent enough job, but when something isn’t all there it’s hard for them. They have a good analysis system set up, and I’m afraid sometimes it frustrates them a little when I sit down and identify something on sight. Sometimes I just let them go. Right now they are examining something I’m pretty sure is an, oh boy, you know, a cleaner for the brown stuff in your ears.”

“An ear wax cleaner?” she giggled, “You can come up with complex words like analysis but stumble on ear wax?”

“Those words hadn’t come up yet.” He blushed.

Rose put a hand on his shoulder and stooped down to meet his gaze. “You know, I find it kind of endearing. But I have to say that I missed my opportunity to teach you the wrong words for things. I could have taught you that they were ear noodles and you wouldn’t have known.”

He laughed out loud. “Can you imagine? I never even thought about how I trust people every day to make sure they teach me the right words. Maybe I shouldn’t be so trusting.”

“I think you’re safe,” she said, “you want to show me around a little?

“Sure, you want a ride?” he asked, pushing off and spinning around in a circle on the stool. 

“No, I’ll walk. You were a terrible driver, also I just saw you crash. I’m not sure how I’d fill out the worker’s compensation report if something happened.”

“I’d never let anything happen to you, Rose Tyler,” he said, looking up. 

“I know,” she said, “but to save bruises, I’ll walk next to you. Where were you anyway?” She looked over her shoulder into the lab area. 

“Oh, this is great I’m setting something special up. Well, not yet, I’m still seeing what I have. But I’ll show you. “

He pushed himself to roll into the lab with a flourish and she followed with a smile. The lab was dirty, packed with old equipment draped in plastic to protect from the heavy layer of dust. It all looked rather spooky, long antiquated machines left to slowly decompose, long forgotten an stuffed there. But one are wasn’t dusty at all. Along the wall near the entrance there was a long metal table. It sparkled under the fluorescent light. On it there was a variety of equipment, all spotless. Rose couldn’t make heads or tails of what it was. 

“What is all this?” she asked.

“It’s my escape plan,” he answered frankly.

“Your escape plan?”

“Do you remember what he tossed to me before he left?”

“The TARDIS coral?”

“Yep.”

“Is that what you are doing in here? Growing the coral? Are you growing a TARDIS?”

He stood and started to touch a few things on the table, sliding them into place. “Not yet. I have a lot of setup to do. But soon.”

“Then what?”

“I honestly don’t know,” he turned to her. 

Rose stared back, her expression blank. Neither of them knew how long they stood there, neither willing to break. It wasn’t a standoff, but two people desperately wanting to read the expression of the other but now being able to. 

Finally the Doctor coughed, his eyes flitting out the door. “Do you want to see the rest?” he asked, clearing his throat.”

“Please,” she said head now dipping. 

He sat back down and pushed off again, making her jog to keep up. He started his explanation where he landed, a seemingly normal shelf of what looked to be junk. He stood again and took a ceramic looking object up. “Do you remember when we were in Utah when we were with van Statten and I showed you that instrument? The one you stoked to make music?”

“Wow that was forever ago, but yeah, I do.”

He slowly began to run his fingers over the object and it began to emit a low tone, beautiful, yet haunting. 

“What is it?” she asked.

“The companion to the first one. They were meant to go together. An alien duet if you will. “

“It’s beautiful.”

His eyes caught hers as he played the music. “Yes it is.”

Rose’s eyes widened. Was he talking about the instrument?

The Doctor turned then, gently placing it back in its place. He sat back down and pushed off, shooting towards another destination.

Rose jogged to keep up. “Don’t you run into the others down here when you do that?” she asked, slightly out of breath. 

He looked up at her again, his last expression long gone. “No they don’t move much. They’re used to it. Hopefully soon I’ll be running around. Then they’ll really be in trouble.” Then he flashed his enormous smile, the one that lit his face. 

She laughed, then grew silent again when he started rummaging around in the bin. There was something between them. Like a thin barrier that didn’t let them fully connect. He was right in front of her but yet she didn’t feel like she could reach him. 

She had to make the first step. “Doctor?” 

“Hmm?” he asked head still down in the bin.

“Andrew and I broke up,” she said simply. 

He stalled his movements but didn’t look up. Rose’s heart rate ratcheted up. 

Slowly he raised his head. She didn’t know what he would say, but didn’t expect the thing he said. 

“Are you alright?” he asked. 

She looked down at him, his endless brown eyes catching hers and holding them. For a moment she was stunned. Then the prick of tears hit. In an instant he was up, holding her. What she couldn’t say at that moment was that the tears weren’t for Andrew. Those had spilled days before. The tears now were because she didn’t know what came next. They were tears because she was so lonely, trying to do as the Doctor had asked, trying to make everything in her messed up life normal. Sure people were just as nice as before, but not as engaging. Maybe they were trying to see if there was a side to pick between her and Andrew. There was not, as far as she could tell, but it left her not talking to anyone. Then here was the Doctor, now talking like crazy, but still they didn’t talk about anything. 

His arms wrapped around her back as he held her tight. “I’m so sorry Rose, I know he-“ he trailed off, leaving the hug in place. 

“I’m alright, “ she started, but couldn’t finish. 

She felt a buzzing in her pocket. She knew what it was, but she wasn’t willing to let go to answer it. 

“Doctor?” came the raised voice of Pete somewhere by the door to the archives. 

The Doctor gave her one more squeeze before letting go. He called out, “I’m here, we’re here!”

Rose turned her back ostensibly to answer her phone, but really to recover. She stepped away from him to take her call. 

Pete joined them seconds later, a mildly shocked expression at seeing them at first, then replaced by a more resolute one. The Doctor wondered about that, but Rose didn’t see. He did hear her sniff though as she took her call. 

Pete addressed the Doctor, “Jacks said you told your car not to get you tonight, I was checking in to talk to you about something and to see if you wanted a ride home, but you look busy." 

Rose turned to face them, ending her call. “Hi Dad, I um, have to go, I’m getting called in. One of the guys on the next shift is off sick. I have a callout.”

The explanation was more for the Doctor than it was for Pete, who nodded none the less. 

Without a thought, the Doctor reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “We’ll talk later. I should have a phone tomorrow or the next day. Can I call you? “

“Sure.”Rose started to look around for something to write with. 

“Rose, you go, I’ll give him your number,” Pete said.

“Ok,” she let go of his hand, waved at them both and hustled out. 

Pete watched her go, seeing the Doctor sit down hard next to him out of the corner of his eye. 

“Did I interrupt something?” Pete asked.

“I actually have no idea,” the Doctor sighed.

Pete turned to him. “Well OK then, I have some official business, then I am under orders to bring you home. Jackie said that Max made a wonderful dinner and she was going to sit with us and eat and if you made her have just one more dinner alone with Tony, she would come get you herself.”

“I like eating with Tony,” the Doctor said. 

“I know, but she has been with him all day. I think she is craving adult conversation. Anyway, you know that thing that you said we only had half of, and the paralyzing part wasn’t with it?”

“Yes.”

“Well I had some people look into it. Then we looked and had some readings done in the area. I think we found the second half. I was going to send a team, but I’ve had second thoughts. I’m now wondering if you would like to go to Naples,Italy, with an agent or a team, to collect it? That way you can see to the safe handling of it. What do you think?”

“How long would the trip be?”

“As long as you need, but usually up to three days. It would be good for you to see this world. Do you think you can handle the travel?”

“Yes, I mean if I didn’t have to walk forever, but I- I mean Rose, we just got to talking.”

Pete gave him a strange look. “I get it, but this would just be for a few days. She’s working a ton right now. I think she is out of town for a bit here too. So you’ll have plenty of time to talk when you both come back. I really need this thing out of the public. Can you go?”

The Doctor shook his head. One step forward, two steps back. “Yes, I’ll go.”

“Ok be ready the day after tomorrow. I’ll brief you that morning. You’ll take a train to Paris, that will allow you to get a good look at the country. Then you will pick up equipment and another agent, then a zeppelin to Naples. The second agent joining you is a specialist in the scanning equipment. I’ll be in contact with you. Anyway, are you ready to go? Home I mean?”

With a slight sigh, the Doctor nodded. All he really wanted was to talk to Rose. With this new news about Andrew swimming in his head, he followed Pete out the door.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you say we go on an adventure? Well the first of two chapters that we go on an adventure...

The next day was a blur of preparations. On top of that, the Doctor finally got the stitches in his ear out as well as the staples in leg, but those came with a promise to be nice to it. He wasn’t allowed to run and still needed to keep off of it whenever possible. The internal stitches would take much longer to dissolve, but on the outside he had healed. He could feel the difference right away though. Not having them in allowed for a better stride. His ear looked good too, now there was just a pink line on the shell of his ear. It had reconnected well. The only remaining thing was his cast, but he generally ignored it. Other than being cumbersome, it wasn't much of a hinderance. 

Next came a passport and various Torchwood issued bags and clothing. He wouldn't be wearing his suits, at least when doing official business. But the uniform wasn't horrible, for a uniform. 

He had to do a few training sessions too, on how to use expense accounts and various procedures. Then he met Pete for a briefing. He did think it odd that Pete was doing this rather than someone else, but figured that he may be a strange situation. His Torchwood agent for the trip would meet him on the train the next day. 

Before he knew it, the car was there to get him. He hadn’t seen Rose all day and had no time to try to find her. 

Sinking into bed that night he resolved to talk to her at length, without the chance of interruption, as soon as he got back. His eyes fell to the axe by the window. Strangely he hadn't had the urge to go back to the tree. 

OoOoOo  
Early the next morning a car came and took the Doctor and all his gear to the train station He was dressed in black dress trousers and a black Torchwood button up shirt. Having to wear official gear was difficult. He had never worn a uniform in his life and didn’t want to start now. So on top he added a blue swirly tie and of, course, his Converse, newly cleaned after his feeding run in with George. At least he didn't have to dress like the agents, who where commonly in some type of fatigues. When he came down to eat before leaving Pete eyed him but didn’t say anything. 

Once on the train the Doctor settled into a surprisingly plush cabin. It seated at least four, and was very nice. The chairs allowed for him to stretch out and get comfortable as well as allowing him to raise his legs and recline the chair itself. Of course he had to play with everything in there, figuring out every little feature, including spraying himself with water from the small sink in the cabin. 

Finally he settled back in, opening a book on Italian, to wait for his counterpart. Suddenly a terrible thought crossed his mind. What if the agent they sent was Andrew? No, they wouldn’t do that to him would they? He knew Rose was busy, but no, there were some many other agents. 

His musings were broken by a light knock on the cabin door.

“Come in, “ he called, a little put out by having to put the chair back into its upright position to greet someone.

He got to his feet as the door opened and he froze. Standing in front of him was none other than Rose Tyler in full Torchwood agent fatigues. 

He broke into a wide smile, she matched him as their eyes met. 

“Wait, I thought you were busy?” he blurted. 

“I was. I had a assignment. They only changed it late last night. I had no idea I was with you. Is this OK?”

“It’s more than OK, come in, have a seat.” He motioned her in. 

Just as he said that, the train lurched and they started to move. 

Rose looked at the two sets of chairs, facing each other. One, on the left side of the cabin, clearly had been occupied with the Doctor, one was next to his, and then the two opposite him were empty. 

She stood there for just a second before setting her bag on one of the opposite empty chairs and settling in the one next to him. He nearly jumped into the one he had been in. 

Rose looked at him, then down to the book he still held.

“What’s that?” she asked

He lifted it up. “It’s a book on Italian. It’s actually my second time through it. I figured I should learn the language before going.” 

“It’s been two days. You learned Italian in two days?" she asked incredulously.

He smiled shyly. “Well, it took about a week to get English, although I’m still learning, case in point: ear wax. But I went on to learn word roots. Italian came quite naturally. The hardest part was reading it. I just mastered reading English and it mixed things up for a few hours.”

“A few hours?!” see asked back.

“Yup,” he answered with a smirk.

“You know we have universal translators. They cover all Earth languages and most of the known alien ones.”

“Yeah but Rose, that wouldn’t be authentic. Also you know that I need to take the road less travelled.”

“I know you do,” she confirmed, then they both fell silent, both of their eyes floating down to the floor. 

The silence stretched. ‘This shouldn't be this awkward’, she thought. Then on a whim she said just that. “This shouldn’t be this awkward.”

“I agree, why is it though? We used to be able to talk for hours about nothing. Now it seems forced.” He scrunched up his face. “I don’t like it.”

This made her laugh and him brighten. “Can we just pretend it’s us? Just Rose and the Doctor, like it is supposed to be?” she asked, now looking up at him again. 

His expression changed to one she couldn’t read. “But is it, Rose?” he asked. 

“Yes,” she said simply. 

He shifted a little, but held her gaze. “When did you know?”

“When you got me from the aliens. I mean I was getting there. But right about then.“

He looked off to his left then back to her. “Can I ask you something? You don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

“Why did I kiss Andrew after you rescued me?”

He didn’t answer, but didn’t look away. His eyes held a tinge of sadness. 

She took a breath. “I haven’t been able to stop thinking about that. The truth is that I don’t know exactly why it happened. Maybe it was relief, you know, the purging of all the fear and relief. It wasn’t...what you thought. I realize that what you saw must have been hard. Oh Gods, this is coming out weird. That next day, or hours later I suppose, after I saw you and you were so mad. I went home and Andrew came over. He complimented you. He’s known from the very beginning why I was looking for you. He let me know that he loved me but understood my situation. He told me you were a good man and he told me to go to you.”

“Were you going to if he hadn’t come to you?”

“I wanted to. It wasn't because Andrew did what he did. I wanted to talk, to really get to know you. To give us a chance. But I had caused so much pain for both of you I didn’t know what to do. I had hurt the two most important men in my life. So I stayed away from you and dodged Andrew. I thought a lot. I thought about what to do if I ended up alone. I didn’t want to hurt anyone anymore. After he, the other you, left I had no one and I was mentally preparing myself to be that way again. I guess from there I was just waiting for you to give me a sign that it was OK to talk to you again. If for no other reason than to have you tell me to get lost."

He sat back, still facing her. “You mean that you were suffering all that time. And you were afraid to come to me?"

She didn’t answer right away, then, “I didn’t want to bother you, especially since you said you needed your space. I was afraid that if I came to you before you were ready you may reject me totally.”

He looked at her, frozen in place, then launched himself at her, enveloping her in the tightest hug he could muster over the armrest that separated them. She hugged him back, arms wrapping around him. He turned his head and spoke into her hair. “I didn’t know. I didn't know you were hurting. If I did I would have never-" he stopped, drawing a long breath. "Please, can we stop this now? Can we just be us? I never want you to suffer alone again. Can we start over? Or where we left off? I like that. Can we just pretend we are starting again? Like we were paused, like that white wall never happened, like-” he stopped again, Rose was shaking. He held her tighter, hoping to squelch the sobs. But she pulled away. 

But instead of a face of anguish, she was smiling, in fact she was laughing. 

“What?” he demanded.

She wiped a tear. “I tried to say yes at the beginning of all that. But you kept going. Yes, let’s be us. There is nothing else I want to be. “ This time she lunged towards him, pulling him to her. 

They sat like that for a while, train bumping along, just holding. It was like nothing had ever happened. Neither of them knew who separated first, but when they did, their hands intertwined. They sat that way for the rest of the trip. 

Along with hand holding, the conversation was light, like old friends. They talked about what she had done to get where she was, including funny stories about her job. He told her about travelling after they were separated, about Martha, being on the moon, about Donna and the Adipose. They kept to light subjects, even though they had both been through some hard times. She kidded him on the color of his cast, but then took out a pen and signed it, drawing a funny face next to her name. 

When they arrived in Paris, they looked at each other. Four hours had flown by. They found that it was hard to let go of each other to gather their things.

OoOoOo

Upon unloading at the Paris station, the Doctor and Rose were approached by a short, owlish man carrying two gear bags that were both roughly his own size. He wore coveralls with a Torchwood logo on the left breast, large black wellies, and perhaps the thickest glasses she had ever seen, causing his already big eyes to magnify significantly. 

"I'm Simon, I gather you are agent Tyler and Doctor Smith," he said, sounding everything like one would think he would, small and high pitched. 

She smiled at Simon. "Yes, please call me Rose, and you can call him Doctor." She shook Simon's hand, having to stoop down to do so. 

The Doctor greeted him and shook his hand too, a mischievous smile lighting his face. 

"May I take anything from you? Rose asked, seeing just how weighed down Simon was. 

The little man shook his head fiercely, causing his glasses to shake precariously on his nose. Rose was sure that they were doomed to hit the ground. "No thank you, I have very important equipment that you do not have high enough security clearance even to think about in here. I'll get them myself. "

"I can assure you-" Rose started. 

"No need," Simon held up a hand, I'm well read on Torchwood policies. Thank you for your offer. Shall se make our way to the zeppelin station? Our time is limited."

"Yeah," Rose said, shaking her head lightly as Simon started to the line of taxis and turned, eyeing a black SUV that was clearly supplied by Torchwood.

Rose the little man get a little ahead of her and started to take a few steps before the heard a voice right next to her ear. 

"I'm sure I've seen a cartoon of that very man on one of Tony's television programs, " the Doctor said quietly in her ear with a little snicker.

"Can you behave yourself for any length of time?" she asked back with a giggle. 

"You love it," he said. 

She didn't answer, just hurried over towards Simon, who was loading his bags in the boot of the SUV with some difficulty. He saw them coming and doubled his efforts. When he was done, he climbed in the front seat next to the driver, leaving the back seat for the Doctor and Rose. 

Rose loaded her bag in, turning to see that the Doctor had fallen behind. He still had a casual air to him, but she couldn't help but also notice that he was trying to cover his limp. She hadn't seen him up and around at all really. In the archives he had been on the stool. 

She hustled over to him, taking his bag. He began to protest but she grabbed it quickly, swinging it over her back and jogging back to the car. 

To his questioning look she answered, "We're a team, right?" She had closed the boot and was opening his door for him. 

He smiled back, loving that he could just smile at her and their easy banter had returned. It still bothered him that he wasn't physically 100%. He was the one that had led the way for so long that it was odd to have her be the leader. One more thing to get used to. She knew her way here, he did not. 

From inside the SUV came a yell, "We have a schedule to keep!"

Rose rolled her eyes and ran around the other side of the car to get in. 

Once in and buckled the car took off. 

On the way they spoke with Simon, doing an impromptu mission briefing. Well, Simon talked mostly and they listened. The mission did not have anyone in charge, but somehow Simon thought he was. He challenged Rose on everything from who should walk at the front of the group to where to start. 

The Doctor started in on him, but received a sharp elbow from Rose and a look of,"This won't help." He huffed and sat back. He knew that Simon was just an insufferable little man with Napoleon complex. Then he wondered if Napoleon was a thing in this world. He hadn't gotten to that part of the history books yet. 

He also thought that Simon was the kind of man that needed to be heard. But after being chastised by Rose, he watched her. She let Simon say what he needed and then began to put her two cents in. She was good at it. She let him have his opinions, didn't challenge and then would slip in ideas where she could. He was stickler for the regulations, not like Rose was not, but Simon would site the regulation before he would talk about the different aspects of the mission. Rose kept up with him though, even correcting him once. That didn't go over well, causing Simon to just spout something else. But Rose was starting to effect the little man. She was gently manipulating Simon and he didn't even know it. The Doctor was tremendously impressed. A compliment sprung to his lips, but he tucked it away to tell her later. 

One thing that Doctor did learn was about some of the tech of Torchwood. Simon did not hold back in using technical terms about his equipment. The Doctor figured it was in an attempt to intimidate Rose, which was currently not working. He explained that he had drones doing sweeps in the area that the other part of the gun was found and had narrowed the signature to within 50 meters. He could not get any closer because the buildings were very old and close together and between dodging clothes lines and people either shooting or throwing objects at the drone, it was too dangerous to lose that expensive of a tool. 

Finally with more finagling by Rose, it was agreed they would all go out together in the area on foot. Simon would use his equipment and would be in charge of the sweeps. Once the location was narrowed down, the Doctor and Rose would investigate closer and do interviews s needed. The Doctor would be in charge of securing the item and disabling it. Rose, of course, would provide security as needed. They would have agents at their disposal if needed, but if things got weird, they would have to get out and call for backup. They would get there in mid-afternoon and work as late as they could then be back at it the next morning. Torchwood would provide accommodations as needed. 

Once loaded onto the zeppelin, Simon took a single seat in the row of two, placing one of his bags on the other seat, leaving the other two to sit together. This time though, they didn't join hands. 

Rose and the Doctor occupied themselves looking out the window, talking, laughing and generally passing the time. About an hour into the flight, Rose felt eyes on her and looked up to see Simon fixing his huge eyes on her. 

"Yes Simon?" she asked.

He narrowed his eyes at her, which didn't change their size much. "I can't believe Torchwood put me with a couple. You carry on like a couple of uni kids on a holiday. How do you expect to get any work done really? All you do is make cow eyes at each other. I'll be reporting you both to Torchwood as soon as I return and can write a formal report."

Rose stammered. "We're not a couple," guiltily. She supposed they were being a little obvious, but honestly didn't see an issue. 

The Doctor leaned forward into Simon's line of sight. "You see Simon, Rose here and I are one of Torchwood's most successful teams. We have saved beings, stopped wars and helped countless races in galaxies you haven't even heard of. What you see here is the comradery that comes from a true partnership. The give and take of two people who would die for each other before even thinking. One day you may know what it feels like to trust someone with your life without pause, but I doubt you possess the ability to give of yourself this much. But maybe you should take notes. This-" he motioned between the two of them," is what you want. We've come a long way to have this."

Simon reddened and looked away with a huff. 

The Doctor sat back, took Rose's hand in his and sighed. 

"That was brilliant," she whispered. 

"It's the truth," he answered, giving her hand a squeeze.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love when they work together.   
> I haven't put a full chapter count on yet because I am still cleaning up the end and I'm not sure how I will break it up yet. But we're getting there.

Upon arriving in Naples, they were picked up by a Torchwood SUV with an Italian driver. Even though Simon took the front seat again, the Doctor conversed with the driver. Rose and Simon were able to keep up due to universal translators but the Doctor was right, there was a certain finesse to the Doctor's conversation. It even included the use of slang terms, that were not translated properly. She began to envy the Doctor and his ability to assimilate. 

They were let out on a small side street surrounded by two or three story homes and flats. The neighborhood was old, many of the the buildings either seeing recent repair or crumbling at the sides. The inhabitants seemed to be a mix of the very old and new families trying to start out. 

Simon went to work taking out his equipment and, as expected, waved them off when they offered to help. "Most of this is proprietary, I hold several patents. If you were to drop this and break it the replacement would cost more than a year's salary for you. So hands off, " he said, reaching for a scanner. 

The Doctor shook his head and instead went to go speak to the driver who told them that he would be waiting for the duration, giving him a card with his phone number so he could pick them up if they needed, Otherwise they could just find him, as he wasn't planning on moving.

With a brief handshake with the driver, the Doctor shouldered his bag and held out a hand to Rose. 

Rose shot a look to a cross looking Simon and the Doctor dropped his hand.

Simon made a high pitched "Hm!" and slid on a pair of earphones, starting down the nearest street. Rose and The Doctor had no other options other than to follow. 

"I can't wait to he rid of that little garden gnome," the Doctor muttered. 

Rose watched him go for a second. 

"Sorry about reaching for your hand, " the Doctor murmured," habit."

Rose shot him a little smile. "I thought about it too. I guess that'll be something to think about if we're working together. I suppose we should be professional."

"Easier said than done," the Doctor grumbled. 

Rose snorted, securing a belt around her waist. On the Doctor's closer examination, it was a gun belt. He raised his eyebrows at her. "This is Torchwood, Doctor. Don't worry I rarely have to use the gun. But you know I'm here to protect you, right?"

He nodded sharply. It had never really occurred to him, as that was usually his job. "I guess I have to get used to that part."

"So I guess I should say before we start that you should stand behind me when or if we encounter someone. "

"Rose, I-"

"Doctor, please. I'm highly trained. This is my job and I have been doing it for years. Things are different now. Please."

He look in her whiskey eyes and how pleading, but at the same time strong they were.He took a deep breath. "This is the new normal."

She smiled, relieved. "Yes it is."

He nodded. It was clear he wasn't totally happy with it. 

Rose turned, starting after Simon. The Doctor kicked a rock and followed. This was just one more thing in a long list of things he would need to get used to. 

OoOoOo

What Rose was expecting was an extended search spanning several days. What she got was catching up to Simon at the first house and him saying," The energy signature is centered here. Oh, it spiked again, it's being used right now. I checked with the infrared. There is one occupant in the house."

Rose thanked Simon, who was retreating. The Doctor came up behind her and looked over her shoulder. The house was one of the older villas, it had a small balcony on the second floor that he could have pictured someone singing from in an old movie. The front door was weathered, dark wood with a heavy knocker. Small flower boxes were hung beneath the windows, sporting happy red flowers. 

"Why would someone be using a gun here?" Rose asked. 

"Not a gun, but part of one. I'm guessing whomever is using it is using it for a reason."With that he lifted the knocker and hit the door a few times. 

Rose carefully pushed the Doctor behind her as she stepped to the side of the door, a maneuver commonly used by law enforcement so they were not in the like of fire should someone come out shooting. She didn't have to move Simon, he had already hustled down the street, seemingly heading for the safety of the SUV. Nothing happened a first, then there was a shuffling sound that got louder. 

The door opened and the Doctor noticed that Rose's hand settled on the handle of her gun. But the way she turned, it almost looked casual. She was practiced at it. 

In a second the Doctor felt a little sick, how many times had her life been in danger since she came here? She had not only move on, but she had grown up. She was now a powerful woman, in charge. 

His musings were cut short as the door swung open to reveal a very small, hunched elderly woman. She had to be at least eighty. She wore a faded yellow dress but a off white apron over it, covered in flour. She also had thick glasses perched on her nose, her grey hair pulled into a tight bun. 

"Who's there?" she called out. Rose could hear the slight tone that was added when the translator worked in her ear. 

"Hello", Rose said, stepping forward. "We are here from the government, to check your house for water leaks." Her words were translated as they came out, using the same tone as she had, with only a millisecond delay. The only way the Doctor could tell is that the tone had gone up a little. Whoever had come up with this translator was a genius. He could hardly wait to get his hands on one. 

He stepped out from behind Rose, smiling at the old woman. In contrast, the old woman scowled at them. "I don't have any leaks."

Rose didn't miss a beat. "Well leaks have been detected in your area. We would hate for the water to cause damage to your beautiful home. Another family on the next lane had crumbling of the foundation." She reached into her pocket and pulled out an ID, and fake badge. 

The woman eyed it skeptically, then nodded. "I'm busy in my kitchen. You have to look fast." She stepped back for them to enter. 

Following Rose in, the Doctor leaned in. "Almost like psychic paper, huh?"

She whispered back, "Torchwood is great with alibies, but I miss that little wallet."

The old lady led them to her kitchen, where she was clearly baking bread. It was a very old setup, without any clear use of modern appliances. It was like they had stepped back seventy years. 

"May we look around?" Rose asked. 

The woman made a grunting noise and went back to kneading the dough. 

Rose made quick work of opening cabinets, looking under the sink and such, while trying to engage the woman in conversation. While she was doing this, the Doctor was also looking around. Though the home had a second story, it seemed that she had not come from there. She would have taken too long to get down the stairs. Unless there was someone else in the home, which Simon said there was not, she had the device somewhere down there with her.

The kitchen was pretty clean, other than the flour on the counter and the bunch of fresh basil sitting on a towel. He looked again. The basil had been freshly washed. His eyes went to a back door. It was similar to the front door, but with a window in it, showing a back garden area. 

He asked the woman, "May I look in your garden?"

The woman visibly stiffened. "No, there is no water out there."

BINGO.

Rose's head eyes shot to his. They both started to the door. The old woman dropped the dough she held, but The Doctor got to the door first and pulled it open. All three of them rushed outside. 

The woman pushed past them, quickly holding out her arms. "See? Nothing to see."

They were in the midst of a well tended garden. It looked like she had peppers, herbs, and tomatoes all growing very well and very well taken care of. Rose's first thought was that she should be very proud of this. But the look on her face wasn't pride, but a warning. But why?

Rose's eyes flicked all around the garden. Then she saw it. A little flicker of movement. It was a rat, not moving at first, but now slowly starting to make jerky movements. 

"Doctor," she said, pointing. His eyes followed her finger as the little rat twitched, turned over and ran away. 

Both of their eyes landed on the woman who took them both in and started to scurry to the door. Rose caught her by her shoulders, the Doctor coming up next to her.

"You're not in trou---owww!" he yelled, as the woman kicked him in the leg. He fell to the ground, clutching his leg. 

Rose pressed the woman to the wall, deftly handcuffing her, being stern, but also not forceful enough to hurt her.

She looked to the Doctor,"Are you hurt?"

He looked back up, a miserable expression on his face. "I'm alright." He struggled to get up as Rose moved the woman inside. 

When the Doctor finally made it inside, he found Rose kneeling in front of the woman, who was crying softly. 

Rose was speaking softly to her. She looked up at him, her expression worried. He brushed it off, pulling out a chair and sitting next to her. 

"She says that she found the device in a pile of junk her son bought at a sale. She figured it out and was using it to paralyze the rats that invaded her garden. They were eating her tomatoes. She just wanted to stop them."

The Doctor nodded, still rubbing is leg. 

The woman looked at them both. "What am I going to do now, the rats will overtake the garden. I use what a grow to help feed my family. I have many grandchildren."

"It is a dangerous thing, in the wrong hands, it can kill," Rose explained. 

The woman hung her head."It's in the drawer, by where I was kneading the dough."   
Rose stood and went to the drawer, opened it, and pulled out a large sliver item, about the size of a can of hairspray. She held it up and the Doctor nodded. 

"Are you going to arrest me?" the lady asked, her eyes widening. 

The Doctor opened his mouth to speak, but Rose got to it first. "The device you had was not supposed to be here, but you didn't know, and you haven't used it on a person- have you?"

The lady shook her head. "No just the rats."

"Then I think we can let you go." Rose stepped behind her and released her cuffs. The woman brought her hands around to the front and rubbed at her wrists. 

The old woman spoke again. "I can't stop the rats. I would poison them, but then the cats eat them and die. There aren't enough traps. I'll lose all my food." Her head was still bowed, her voice now quiet. 

Rose could feel the pain in her voice. This woman meant no harm. She was trying o feed her family. Beside her, the Doctor made a noise and Rose looked up to him. 

"Ma'am, do you have an old radio?"

"Her head remained down. "I suppose so," but it doesn't work well. My grandson dropped it."

"May I see it?" he asked.

The woman slowly got to her feet and reached to a shelf above the Doctor's head. She pulled down a radio that easily was from the 1960's. He smiled in acceptance of it then pulled a little kit out of his pocket. Then he pulled out a knot of wires. She raised her eyebrow at him and he looked up at her, a little guiltily. "I can't help myself. I grab bits and bobs when I leave the archives. It drives your mother crazy, she finds them in the wash."

The old woman snorted but didn't say anything. 

Right there at the table, the Doctor opened the radio and started to work, mumbling to himself. 

Fifteen minutes later he looked up smiling. "Done."

"What is it?" the woman asked. 

"It's an ultrasonic device to repel the rats. It is high pitched and will keep them out of the area. You won't even notice though. Here, I'll show you."

He stood, a little stiffly, Rose noticed. But he made his way outside, found an outlet and plugged in the radio. There was nothing they could hear, but a few seconds later, there was a rustling in the tomato plants. Sure enough, two large rats came running out, scurrying away. 

The old lady turned to the Doctor. "Thank you," she said simply. 

"You're very welcome," he replied with a smile, "now have someone build you a box for this with holes in the side so it won't get wet when it rains. It will last you a long time though."

They gathered their things, the Doctor holding the device. As Rose was opening the door the woman called out from behind. They turned to see her hustling up with what looked like a loaf of bread wrapped in a towel. "Here, please have so bread."

Rose smiled, "Thank you, but we can't take gifts."

"I insist. You helped me and I hurt him," she indicated the Doctor. "Also no one says no to an Italian grandmother." There was a definite twinkle in her eye. She thrust the bread at the Doctor, who looked at Rose, looked around for Simon, and then took the loaf with a smile. 

"Thank you," he said. 

They bid goodbye to the woman and the Doctor stuffed the bread in his bag."I'm not sharing this," he said, "plus I don't want to give Simon a coronary when he sees I got something from her. "

"Smart move," she said, looking down at him. He was limping more. "You OK? And don't give me your standard answer. I want the truth."

"I'm alw-" he caught her gaze. "She got me good. I need to get off my feet. But I don't think she did major damage."

Just ahead Simon leaned on a a fence. "Did you get it?" he asked.

"Yes," Rose confirmed. 

Simon nodded curtly and started off without another word. 

Both Rose and the Doctor shook their heads and, at a slower pace, started for the SUV.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you are about to seriously squee! This also gets a little more mature at the end. The next chapter tips the scales into smut.

After explaining to Simon what happened, and leaving out a few details, Simon explained to the Doctor that while he was waiting he did more sweeps. It seems that the energy signature was completely gone. 

"Well that's it!" Simon said. "I'll call my supervisor for further instructions. 

Rose followed suit, but called her dad first. Normally she wouldn't but he had been very interested in this trip, perhaps because it was the Doctor's first, but since she had been briefed by him, he would be the first to hear. 

"Hi, we're finished!" she said enthusiastically into the phone. 

"Great Rose, I've made arrangements for lodging, I'll send you the link."

"Why? It's still early. We can be back in London, I mean it'll be late, but still."

"No, don't worry, I figured you would be tired and that the Doctor may need to rest. So I already made them. But call me when you get back to London." He rang off. 

She looked at the phone. That was odd. 

Steps away, Simon was finishing his call. He set his big owl eyes on her. "I'm flying out, I was able to get a zeppelin in an hour. When is your flight?"

Rose paled a little. "My, erm, supervisor decided to have us stay a night here. But we'll drop you off on our way to the hotel."

Simon eyed her dubiously. "Fine then," he finally said. Then turned and started to load his gear. 

The Doctor came up next to Rose. "What's that then?" he asked. 

Rose lowered her voice."Dad said he got us a hotel. He figured you may need to rest, I guess."

The Doctor's eyebrows shot up, a little smile pulling at his lips. "A night in Naples huh?"

"Yes", Rose answered, breathless now. But she covered it with clearing her throat. 

OoOoOo

Dropping off Simon was the best part of the whole day. At the zeppelin station, he got out, unloaded his gear, glanced at them through the window of the SUV and shook his head. Once out of range, they couldn't help but laugh. 

"I wonder who he'll complain to about us," Rose thought out loud.

"I hope it's Pete, that would be fun," the Doctor said back jabbing her lightly in the ribs, making her laugh. 

They were then driven though Naples, this time the driver pointed out areas if interest. He pointed out old churches, talked about catacombs and then showed Mt. Vesuvius and talked about the ruins of Pompeii. 

Rose noticed the Doctor stiffen next to her. 

"I'm assuming you've been to Pompeii."

"On volcano day. I'm not 100% sure I want to go back."

"Noted," she said back, giving his arm a squeeze. 

About a half hour later the SUV turned and drove up the drive of an expansive, absolutely gorgeous building. It had the architecture of an old, ornate building, but was clearly modernized. When the car came to a halt, a young man immediately popped open the door so they could step out. Rose stalled and turned back to the driver, who had gotten out himself. 

"Are you sure this is the place?" she asked him. "When I've been on assignment before we never stayed in anything like this."

"Those were my orders ma'am."

Rose turned to the Doctor, who was grinning. "Perhaps your father wanted us to have a nice place to stay," he said. 

Rose was beginning to wonder exactly what her father's plans were. 

They took their things inside. It was nearly 6:00pm and Rose was starting to get hungry. At the front desk they were greeted by warm smiles from the staff.

As she approached she was greeted by an overly enthusiastic man with short, perfectly styled bright blonde hair. "Hello Miss Tyler, I'm so glad you made it here. All the arrangements are complete. Dinner has need arranged to be brought up to your room and now that you are here I will call for that. It's going to be from a bistro right down the street. Whoever made all the plans figured you may not have planned on eating out. So go get settled and we will bring it up. We have you for two nights, and checkout is at noon, but you are paid for late checkout, so you can stay as late as 8 pm." He turned to the Doctor. "And you must be Dr. Smith. Nice to have you staying with us. Let me just get your keys. I'm Nigel by the way. I'll be here until 10. Please ask for me by name if you need anything."

Nigel extended an arm to each of them with a key. "My bellman will bring you up to your room now."

Rose's eyes cut to the Doctor at the singular use of the word "room" and two nights? What was that all about? He was looking back at her, his expression unreadable. 

They silently walked after the bellman. The Doctor behind Rose, his gait now stiff and slow. They didn't talk in the lift, and when they got to the correct floor, walked partway down the hall to an unassuming door. The bellman used another key yo open the door, then held the door for the two of them. 

Rose stopped a few steps in. 

The room was huge. Not only was it huge, but it was gorgeous. Nothing had been spared to the glittering light features, couch, overstuffed chairs, dining table with four chairs, and lastly a huge, king bed. 

Just one bed. 

The bellman brought in their things and set them on a chair next to the bed. He turned to Rose. "Will that be all, Miss Tyler?"

"Yes, thank you, she said, quickly digging in her wallet for a tip. 

"No, thank you," he said, putting his hand up. "We have all been taken care of." With that, he turned and left. 

Rose now advanced farther into the room spinning around to take it all in. She was trying to come up with words, since they had apparently escaped her when she saw that the Doctor had vanished. 

Where had he gone? Had they taken him to a different room and she hadn't noticed? Had he bolted? Anxiety washed over her. What had her dad done? 

"Rose you have to come see this!" came his excited voice from around a corner. She figured it was the loo. 

She blew out a relieved breath, and followed his voice and as she stepped in, found that it was much more than that. 

It too was huge. Her eyes fell on the Doctor, standing in the middle of a giant tub. "Look Rose," he babbled excitedly," it has..." he made his hands open and close quickly, like something was spurting.

She joined him, well next to him. "Oh, it has jets. It's a Jacuzzi tub."

"Oh that will be nice," he said, hopping out carefully. "Show me the rest of the room!"

Rose couldn't help but giggle at his enthusiasm. It felt so right. 

When she joined him, he was standing in the middle of the room, staring at the singular bed. 

He looked up as she came in. "Um-" he started. 

Rose forced a smile. "I think this may be my dad's attempt to get us, I don't know, together. 

The Doctor's eye floated to the floor then the ceiling. "It's fine, I mean they have a great sofa in here. I'll just-"

Rose was at his side in a second. "Why though? We don't have to go anywhere we don't want to. But we're here. Let's just see what happens, OK?"

He let out a sigh. "OK." and his arm snaked around her waist, pulling her to him. 

They had turned to look into each other's eyes. Rose melted. If possible, his eyes got deeper. She raised a hand to put it on his chest, where she could feel the thrum of his single heart. 

He raised his right hand into her hair, and she could feel the rasp of his cast against her scalp. She pressed closer to him, lifting her chin. 

There was a rap at the door. 

They both laughed breathily, separated, and the Doctor went to open it. Rose could hear the bellman's voice as the Doctor let him in. "We have dome champagne and strawberries for you to enjoy until your dinner arrives," he said, pushing in a cart with a bottle sitting in a silver bowl of ice with two flutes standing next to it. 

He popped the cork, filled the classes and replaced the bottle in the ice before leaving. 

The Doctor went over and picked up both glasses and handed her one. "To us," he said, tilting his glass to touch hers. 

"To us," she repeated, then took a sip. She looked around for a second, the weight of the moment disorienting her a little. 

Then she shook her head. "Wait a minute. You're hurt. I need to see your leg."

The Doctor's expression was surprised for a second, then he frowned. "Way to kill the mood."

"Sit," she told him. He was limping , quite a bit actually as he made his way. It was interesting how she hadn't noticed it in the last few minutes. 

He sat down, not surrendering his glass, rather he sipped it slowly as she lifted his pant leg to reveal the area that he has recently had his staples out. The area was healed, but a pink line remained, along with the little scars where the staples had been. But now it also was red and swollen around it, showing the beginnings of new bruising. 

She ran her hand up his leg and he hissed. "She got me good," he admitted. 

Well maybe you should stay off it for the rest of tonight. I'll get some ice. Why don't you go sit on the bed and we'll prop it up?"

The Doctor was going to protest, but Rose leveled a glare at him that mimicked his own "oncoming storm" look. 

He nodded slowly and carefully got to his feet while Rose located the room's ice bucket and went down the hall for more ice. 

She came back to find him divested of his Torchwood clothes, now lying on the bed, book in hand, wearing plain grey sweatpants and a white undershirt. He had his glasses perched on his nose, clearly engrossed. She came up to the bed and he finally looked up. 

"What are you reading?" she asked. 

"Actually I'm re-reading 'Great Expectations' but in Italian."

"You are an odd man," she said with a smile. She snagged a flannel from the loo and then came back and lifted his pant leg, settling the ice bag on it, to his unhappy groan. 

"Ooh that's cold," he said with a frown. 

"Well it's ice," she said back sarcastically. "I'm actually surprised that you let me put it on there. As I remember, you don't like being taken care of."

"You're right, Rose Tyler. But I've also recently come to the information that you are a badass and I should do as you say."

"I like that." She smiled hugely at him, but as there was a knock at the door, she turned, wondering just what he meant. 

She opened the door to the bellman from before. He had a cart with multiple covered dishes on it. It also had a bottle of red wine and two wine glasses on it. Rose led him in and when he went to go set it up on the table, stopped him.

"I'll take it from here, thank you, just uncork the wine please,"she said. The bellman did as she instructed, poured out two glasses of wine and retreated quickly. 

The Doctor set aside his book as Rose began removing the covers from the food and setting them on the bed. She handed him an empty plate and put his wine glass down on the bedside table as he surveyed the different dishes she put down. 

"I recognize a few of these, that looks like veal, and there is chicken, and this pasta looks amazing," he said breathing in deeply.

Rose held up a paper and read from it. "OK, we have 'veal scaloppine', 'chicken all diavola', some ravioli and linguine and all these sauces. 

"Your dad maybe didn't know what to order so he ordered all of it," he said, laughing.

"I don't know what my dad was thinking. I mean these accommodations, the food, the two nights..." her voice trailed off. "Oh." Her eyes found his. 

"I think he wanted us to...talk," he said.

They both looked at the bed then the room, then looking back to each other. 

The Doctor took a breath. "OK, well it won't be too hard, I suspect. I mean we've already begun, on the train. Let's eat, and play, um, 20 questions. I'll go first. Tell me what you did when you got here. What led to the Rose I see before me? Also, hand me that ravioli, it looks fantastic."

Rose handed him the ravioli then put some chicken and pasta on her plate. "Well, after you burned up a sun and I proclaimed my love to you, I got kinda depressed."

The Doctor swallowed but let her continue. 

"My dad tried to get me to go to Torchwood, but I didn't ever want to. It was Mickey that forced it. Probably with my dad's blessing. He took me along on an assignment. Everyone was so nice. They accepted me as I was right away. It was fun too. It was like I was seeing the sun again I also felt like doing it made me closer to you. I applied the next day and started training two weeks later."

"And the dimension cannon?"

"That came from spit-balling one day in the lunch room. Everyone there knew about me. It wasn't a secret. But everyone there is sworn to secrecy. I mean if we let out even a fraction of what we really do the world would collapse in a panic. So they were OK to talk to. Anyway, we happened to be sitting with one of the research and development people. He played basketball with Mickey. He just sat there and thought for a moment, then he asked me if I could go back would I? I said yes, and he just started talking. Apparently it was a subject that intrigued him a lot. And he brought it to his team. And here we are. My turn. What's different for you in this new body?"

He took his wine glass from the bedside table and took a sip, thinking. "Well I react to pain differently, meaning I can't push through the pain as well. And you know what? Evacuation is an issue."

"Evacuation?"

"Do you know how many times humans have to wee, and...other things? It's annoying."

"I'm aware," she said taking a sip of her own wine. 

He smiled. "Of course you would be. But I seem to have to go all the time. It never happened before. When your mother took me out she asked if I needed to go before we left, I thought she was nuts, but then your brother told me that he always has to go before they leave. And sure enough I did."

She laughed. "I guess it's the little things. Anything else?"

"Well as far as I can tell, my intelligence is the same, and even though I heal slower than before, but it is still roughly 50% faster than humans. I still have all my spatial awareness. I can gauge how big or little things are at a glance or how far they are away. Oh and I also still have my time sense. Carl loves that. He loves to quiz me on the time of day. I have good hearing but I actually need my glasses for close up things. Erm, I am still learning the rest. As soon as I can make a sonic I may know more."

"Are you making one?"

"Kind of. I have found some bits and bobs in the archive and it am looking for a few more elements. I haven't even been here a month! You need to give me time!" he said with mock exasperation. 

"OK but there has to be a little more different. I mean things you can tell without a sonic," she prodded. 

He thought for a second,"Emotional control is a thing. I'm more quick to anger. "

"That's why you hit the tree."

"Yes." He took a deep breath. "That's about it, well, I mean I guess there are a few other things."

"Like?"

He sighed deeply and ate a ravioli,"I may be more sexual than I ever was," he said around his bite. 

Rose was sipping wine and nearly choked. 

"Are you alright?" he asked, sitting up. 

She coughed. "I'm fine, but did I hear you right? More sexual?"

He had reddened deeply. "More things seem to stimulate me. Gods, this is embarrassing. I had so much more control before."

"That isn't necessarily a bad thing," she drank more wine. 

"Can I change the subject? That was awful," he sputtered. 

"Sure."

He breathed a sigh of relief. "When did you meet Andrew?"

Rose wasn't sure if this was a better subject. "We were assigned to the same team, then when I started making jumps he came over to help prep and debrief. He knew about you from the beginning. We didn't even date at first. It was more like dinner with a mate. Then I suppose it slowly evolved."

"Why did you keep looking for me?" he asked. 

"Because I had to. At that point I was invested. I was going to find you. There was no question. No matter what happened here, I always had a question, you know, what if? I guess now I know."

"What do you know?" he asked quietly.

"That you're here now, and that you... I guess I don't know." She ate a piece of chicken. 

He went back to his food also, and they ate in silence for a few more minutes. 

After a while he spoke," It's your turn."

"Um OK I know, what will you go if you succeed in growing your TARDIS?"

He had been stuffing a forkful of pasta in his mouth. Now he held up a finger while he chewed, but she could tell he was stalling, thinking. 

He swallowed, wiped his mouth, then took a sip of wine. 

"I don't know. I'd like to travel. But I don't know. My plans certainly aren't to stay at Torchwood forever. I can't do that. I have to move."

"Will you take anyone with you?" she asked.

His eyes flittered around the room and then back to her. "I'd hoped maybe you were interested."

She brightened. "I am."

"After all that has happened?"

"I am,"she repeated. "You opened up the universe to me, Doctor. How could you think that I could just let that go. I know that there is so much more out there to explore. I want to see it, with you."

He broke into the widest smile yet. "Me too."

They went on, eating, talking, drinking the wine and then the champagne. The conversation flowed smoothly. He told her about Martha and Donna and the Master and all that transpired. 

She told him about bad jumps, life in a new world and adjusting to him not being there. 

Twenty questions turned into one hundred and twenty. 

"Why did you tell me about Andrew so early?" he asked after she had started clearing the plates and food away. 

"I had to. I wanted no secrets."

"That was torture, you know that?"

"But would you have wanted to find out some other way?" she asked.

"I suppose it had to happen. But I have to say, it was brilliant coming up with the drawings."

"Yeah, I was proud of that, I mean before it all went bad."

He sniffed, and she looked up. He wasn't crying, he was buffing his fingernails on his shirt, puffing out his chest. "The heart you drew for me was bigger than the heart you drew for Andrew."

"You measured?"

"Of course I did," he said with a laugh. 

"Blokes, always measuring," she shook her head. 

The Doctor stirred on the bed, knocking the ice bag, now more of a cold water bag, off his leg. "You know know what I said about needing the loo more?" He swung his legs off the side of the bed and standing. "Whoa, that's new, at least in this body."

"What?"

"I seem to be a little intoxicated," he said with a laugh, steadying himself on the wall.

"Are you OK?" she asked, getting up.

"I'm fine, just had to get me feet under me." He made his way to the loo. 

He came back shortly thereafter, and Rose had cleaned up the bed and stood by the bin. He eyed her. 

"So what now?" he asked. It was a loaded question.

Rose moved and sat on the side of the bed. "I mean we can do anything really. I was going to ask you what you thought. We've made up a lot of ground. But I don't know what the next step is."

"Nor do I," he said blankly. 

She looked around the room. "OK, how about this:No pressure. We've slept in the same bed before. Now is not the best time to start anything anyway, we've both been drinking. Let's just sleep. We'll get up in the morning, spend tomorrow together and see where it leads us. What do you think?"

"I think that's a great idea. Though it certainly feels weird to have the doors open around us like this, you know the metaphorical ones."

Her mouth dropped open.

"What?" he asked.

"You know 'metaphorical' and not 'ear wax'?" she dissolved into giggles. 

"I think, Rose Tyler, that you may be intoxicated too."

"Maybe." She giggled again. "But can we try one thing?"

"Hm?"

"We got interrupted before. I was thinking maybe I'd like to try to kiss you. You know, for the first time with both of us in our own brains."

He laughed out loud. "But we did, on the beach."

"But I know you now. I'd like to try again. Now that it's just us."

He took a limping step towards her. "Come here, let's give it a try."

She got closer and he gently settled his hands on her hips, she looped her hands around his neck. 

There was no preamble, no more talking. Once in position, they came together easily. Soft at first, each feeling the other out, but it deepened quickly. He nipped at her bottom lip, followed by her tracing her tongue over his. He opened his mouth slightly and her tongue went in, finding its way. 

They traded back and forth, each allowing the other to explore. His hands slid up to her back, and hers into his hair. 

He groaned as she lightly scratched his scalp. 

They stumbled to the side, blindly finding the bed and sitting, never breaking the kiss, save for a couple of breaths for her.

After a few minutes she finally broke free to get a good breath. "So, your respiratory bypass seems to be a thing too." 

"I forgot to mention that," he said, chasing her mouth again. 

Rose let her hands slide down his back, feeling the taught muscles. His hands explored too, coming to rest on the sides of her breasts. She let out a little sigh. 

"Is this OK?" he asked between kisses. 

"Yes," she gasped. 

Taking the cue, he let his thumbs venture around, running them over her nipples. This time she groaned, skating her hands down to grab at his bum.

He gave her a gentle push over, landing half on top of her on the bed. His hands then made their way to the front of her, gently cupping her breasts as best he could. 

She purred her acceptance, as he slowly brought up his knee to give her pressure just where she wanted between her legs. 

Rose's hands now wiggled their way between them to cup him and he doubled his efforts, pulling up her shirt to reveal her bra and hissing at the sight. In a second it was off and he sat up a little. "God's you're beautiful," he gushed. 

"Likewise," she said with a smile. 

Without another word he took her breast in his mouth and Rose arched up to meet him with a squeal. 

"Doctor-" she said.

He sucked harder now, giving her the edge of his teeth. 

"Doctor!" she said a little louder, pushing him off. He fell back, confusion lighting his features. 

"I'm sorry Rose, I thought-"

"You thought right, relax. But we were moving a little fast. This was already the best snog of my life, but I think we need to wait. We're so new, let's be together before we GET together."

He ran his hand up her body, briefly cupping her breast once more. "OK, I get it." He frowned. 

"Don't be sad. I mean we don't even have condoms. But we have time. We're on the slow path, remember? Let's enjoy it."

His frown deepened, but comically. "Fine, but let me tell you this, when it does happen, it will be epic. Also, I'm new, I'm disease free. Oh, and have zero recovery time. Wait, I actually don't know that for sure. But I can't wait to try."

"Zero recovery time? I'm guessing it's a Time Lord thing?"

"Yup, but I haven't tried it yet. It should be fun. Are you on any sort of...erm...I don't know what to call it. Girl- no babies pill?"

"Birth control?" she giggled,"Yes, I get a shot. Along with STD, well everything, testing, every 6 months. But the shot, it's actually a Torchwood thing. Because, well this is embarrassing, some aliens can smell blood, the female agents can't have periods. Is that too gross?"

"No, it's part of your biology. But we don't need condoms then. See, we learned something!"

She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "We should get to bed. We can pick this up tomorrow. Are you up for an adventure tomorrow?"

"Oh yes, and just you wait, Rose Tyler, I have more in store for you than you can even imagine."

"I'll take your word for it." She got up and got her bag. "I'll get ready for bed first. I'm going to shower. As for tomorrow, I only have Torchwood gear, so I may need to hit up a shop so we can go out. That would be the only side effect of my dad being sneaky."

"I know one more," he said, digging in his bag, "I have the paralyzing device. It's safe for now, but I may need to see if I can get it back to Torchwood. I'll call Pete in the morning. I just don't want to leave it here or have it on me all day."

"Good idea." She got up and went to the loo. 

When Rose came back, the Doctor was back in bed, glasses on, book in hand, but he laid it aside as she approached. She now looked very much like him in Torchwood sweatpants and an undershirt. 

She climbed into bed, pulling up the duvet, giving him a shy smile, which he returned. 

He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Sleep well."

"You too," she said, turning on her side to face him. 

He turned out the light and snuggled in, moving closer to her. Under the covers he rested his right hand on her hip. It was the hand with the cast on it and Rose shifted a little. He pulled it back with a mumbled," Sorry."

She reached out and took it back, this time cradling it. "It's fine."

"I keep forgetting it's there, except for when I clonk myself with it in my sleep."

"Just don't clonk me and we'll be fine."

He snorted. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight."


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am SOOO sorry for the ling time in between postings. I had some bad stuff happen, and seeing as how I am possibly the least dramatic person ever, it took a little to recover. But I'm back and it's all good. 
> 
> And may I present... the smut.

Rose slowly rose to consciousness, the early morning light filtering in through the windows. She shifted, feeling for him only to find empty bed. She sat up, expecting to find him elsewhere in the expansive room, maybe reading, but no the room was empty. 

She knew she should not jump to conclusions, she knew that he had stepped out, but the anxiety linked to their past kicked in. Did he run? After all the time they spent the night before talking, sharing, just being, was it too much for him?

As her heart rate accelerated, she went and threw on some clothes. She was tying her shoes when she heard the door open. Her head shot up and her eyes met the smiling face of the Doctor, He looked over, his smile slipping. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Where have you been? I was going to look for you." It was just then that it occurred to her that he was carrying several bags as well as having a coffee in each hand. 

"I went for breakfast, and some other things. I figured that you didn't have non-Torchwood clothes so you didn't want to go out."

"Thank you. What did you get?" she asked, hustling over to relieve him of the coffee. 

"Well the shops weren't open yet, but I found a nice lady that was beginning to open up and I helped her with her...shade thing out front...and she let me shop for you."

"You helped with her awning and she let you shop?

"Yes, awning. She was about your size so she helped me pick out something.I hope you like it."

"I'm sure I will."

He followed her into the room, and once she set down the coffee, watched him walk towards her. His limp didn't seem much better. 

"Well, not as sore today, but look at this bruise." He pulled up his pantleg showing a deep purple mark covering much of his calf."

"Oh wow, maybe we should stay in today."

"I am with a beautiful woman in Naples, there is no way that will happen," With that he planted a kiss on her lips. It was by no means chaste, but he didn't deepen it, as he still held multiple bags. 

He pulled back and held up the bags. "Let's see if you like what I got, sit down." He motioned to the dinner table. "Oh and I already talked to your dad. He called and sent a courier to meet me for the device. It's already on it's way to Torchwood."

"All while I was sleeping?"

"I'm very efficient," he said with a sniff. 

Rose had a seat and he set the bags down. "First I have breakfast sandwich for you, as well as an assortment of croissants and various pastries."

"Let me guess, you couldn't make up your mind."

"Exactly. And the lady at the baked...goods shop...was so sweet. She told me all about her granddaughter and how she was headed off to university."

He looked up and Rose was smiling at him.

"What?"

"I think it's so cute when you don't know a word. You barely miss a beat. It's adorable. It's so uniquely you. I'll miss it when it's gone."

"So at first you can't wait for me to talk, and now that I do, you'll miss when I couldn't?"

"No, I'm glad we can talk, but I think it's cute when you come across something you don't know. By the way, the word you were looking for was bakery."

"Thank you. I don't get you, Rose Tyler. But let me show you something."

He opened a bag, pulling out a red silky summer dress. He held it up in front of him. It had a red background but was covered with a beautiful print of tropical flowers. It was lovely. It had no sleeves, but spaghetti straps on top. It looked like it would come just above her knees.

"Doctor, it's beautiful," she gushed., standing up and taking it from him. "I'll go try it on."

She took it directly into the loo, took off her clothes and slid it on. She was surprised to see that it had some bra support too, as she was trying to figure out how that would work. Taking the opportunity, she fluffed out her hair, washed her face then put on some light makeup. Since being at Torchwood she tended to not wear as much, as sweat and makeup didn't mix well. 

The dress was a perfect fit, and she smiled at herself in the mirror, then stepped out into the room. 

The Doctor was rifling through one of the pastry bags, and looked up suddenly, a Danish hanging from his mouth. When he saw her, his mouth opened and luckily he reached up and caught the Danish before it fell. He swallowed hard. "You look amazing," he breathed. 

She walked over to him and laced her hands around his neck, kissing him soundly. His arms snaked around her and pulled her tight. She smiled against his lips.

"Hm?" he hummed.

"You were right about things being stimulated easily." She pushed a little closer, rubbing against him and the growing bulge in his pants. 

"Ngh," he grunted. "If you continue on this course, we will never get out of this room, and I have plans for us," he whined. 

"Can I at least get a rain check?"

"I'll give you ten rain checks. But I don't know what those are."

"I'll tell you later, when I cash in," she said, snaking her hand between them to cup him.

"That's cruel, Tyler."

"Not cruel, but a preview."

He pushed her lightly away. "Well then, you need to eat and fortify yourself. I have an adventure planned."

"Can we stop for shoes?" she asked, "I think I saw some in the gift shop downstairs. All I have is my boots."

"Do you doubt me?" he asked indignantly, digging again in a bag. "AHA!" he pulled out a pair of leather flat sandals. 

"You think of everything!" she gushed, taking them and putting them on. "Anything else in there I need to know about?"

"Well, I also only have Torchwood gear, but as you can see, mine is more like normal clothes. So I got a new shirt." He leaned over and pulled out a crazy Hawaiian shirt. 

Rose guffawed, the started coughing. 

The Doctor leaned over and hit her on the back a few times, while she tried to recover.

After a minute she stopped sputtering. 

"Are you alright?" he asked, now kneeling in front of her. 

She drew a breath. "I'm fine, but that shirt...it is not."

He looked down at the shire in his hands. "What? I got it so it would match your dress. Do you not like it?"

She swallowed hard. "It's a little much, but it's very you."

He stood, slipping the shirt over his white tee that he had worn the night before. 

"OK, you're right, you're cute. If we're going to get to this adventure, you need to eat," she said.

They finished breakfast as Rose quizzed him about what he had in store for them. 

Of course he wasn't telling. 

After eating, he led her out of the room and through the lobby. He waved to the staff as he went, clearly he had already made friends. 

Outside he led her to the side of the main door. Parked there was a cute little Vespa with two helmets. 

"No way," she said, stopping in place. 

"Way," he said back, rocking back on his heels with a giant grin. 

Rose squealed and ran to it, selecting the pink helmet just like before. She slid it on and looked back to him as he made his way up. He was limping today, but not as bad as the night before. 

"Do you like it?" he asked.

"I love it! You remembered!"

"Of course. But this time we'll be sure that you keep your face."

"Yes, lets," she nodded, handing him his helmet. "Are we going far?"

"No, not particularly. This neighborhood is really great. I figured that on top of the Vespa being a fun memory, If we used it I wouldn't have to walk. But after we explore we can visit a museum or just look around the city. The world is your oyster, Rose Tyler, or at least Naples is."

"Thank you, Doctor. This is wonderful."

Their first stop was she shop where he was let in to get her clothes. Upon walking in, they were immediately greeted warmly by a woman who was ostensibly the shop owner. She was about Rose's height and weight, but probably thirty years older. "Rose, this is Lorena, she owns this shop and was nice enough to let me in early to shop."

Lorena looked Rose up and down with a smile. "You were right, Doctor, she is a beauty. But I thought maybe you were exaggerating. But no, she just as gorgeous as you say."

Rose blushed furiously. The Doctor snaked his hand around her waist. "I'm very accurate in my descriptions."

Lorena showed Rose a few more things, a few of which she bought. The dresses she sold were throwback styles, but all with a modern twist. Rose hadn't seen anything like it. She would get a lot of wear out of the things back home. 

Next up was the bakery and another shop owner fawning over her, and this time pressing treats into her hands. 

The day then included lunch adorable bistro and then a trip to a beautiful fountain.

"Local custom is if you throw in coins while you are kissing your true love, you will have good luck for the rest of your lives," he said, fishing in his pockets for change. 

So then both tossed in coins, their lips joined in a passionate kiss. It even drew a few cat calls from others that were near. 

While Rose recovered, she looked up at him. "How did you learn about a local custom just today?"

This time he blushed.

"You made it up, didn't you?" she asked. 

"Maybe I just wanted an excuse to kiss you."

"You don't need an excuse,:" she said, kissing him again. 

After trekking around and seeing a museum, in which he found a few inaccurate pieces of information to which Rose practically had to restrain him from finding a curator, they found a nice restaurant taking seats on the patio. 

That's when they heard the first rumble of thunder in the distance.

"Uh oh, maybe it's not the best time to be on a scooter," Rose said, looking at the sky. 

"Perhaps we should head back?"he asked. 

She agreed and they cut their dinner short. 

The clouds opened up about a block from their hotel. 

By they time the got back, they were soaked to the bone. The Doctor parked and took off his helmet to find Rose standing there, arms wrapped around her, still holding the bags of their purchases, shivering violently. 

He grabbed her quickly. "Come on." He wrapped an arm around her and bustled her up to their room. 

Once inside, with the bags set down, he grabbed a towel from the bath and wrapped her in it, then started the hot water in the big tub. Rose was still shivering. 

"Here," he said, "get in."

She looked at him for a second, not moving.

"Um do you want me to step out?"he asked.

She shook her head. "No, I guess not. I mean, you've seen just about everything," she said through chattering teeth. 

"Good!" he said a little too excitedly, taking the towel from her. 

Rose started to peel off her dress, and when it stuck to her, he helped, lifting it off her head. It took everything he had to not stop and take her all in, but instead he steered her to the now full bath. 

She sunk in with a sigh. "Oh this is good."

Beside her, she heard the sound of clothes hitting the floor. She looked up to see him slipping his soaked trousers off. He stopped mid-action. 

"Is this not OK? I can just go in and dry off in-"

"Get in the water," she said with a grin. 

She tried not to stare as he finished getting undressed. She had only seen him in his pants before, just after he regenerated. But this was better than she imagined. His slim body was more muscular than she imagined. As her eyes traveled down, she suppressed a gasp. He was perfect. He was well endowed for a human, but not absurdly so. He was amazing. 

He carefully slipped into the huge tub but floated over near her. Then he reached back and turned on the jets. 

They groaned in unison, both sinking in. The water felt fantastic. Then Rose felt something else. His hand landed on her thigh, and was gently travelling up. She opened her eyes to see him hovering over her. "Is this OK?" he asked. 

"Very," she breathed,"Wait, your cast."

"Waterproof," he whispered capturing her lips.

This snog wasn't unlike the night before. Hands roamed, tongues slid along tongues. She could feel him hard against her leg, giving himself pressure. But then it all stopped.

Her eyes shot open in question, just in time to see him sink below the water. Next she felt gentle pressure on the inside of her legs, then gentle kisses on her inner thighs. Then, "OH GODS!"she squeaked. 

The Doctor's magic tongue found its way to the center of her pleasure. He twirled and sucked, all the while bringing her higher and higher. Her hands grabbed for purchase on the rim of the tub, but found their way to his head, where she hung onto his hair. That only seemed to spur him on. 

He was gentle at first, but slowly accelerating. Then she felt the unmistakable feel of pressure in just the right place. He pressed in one finger then only seconds later, two. As he sucked her clit he fucked her with his fingers. 

Above the water, Rose was trying to keep from crying out. She was almost there, working up, thrusting to match him. She was seconds from her climax when he surfaced, taking a huge gulp of air, replacing his mouth at her center with his thumb and taking her breast in his mouth. 

That was it, she crashed down, yelling out then slumping back on the side of the tub.

He removed his hand, taking her in his arms and hugging tightly. 

"That was fantastic," she breathed, "thank you."

"You're very welcome."

"I was wondering how long your bypass worked. "

"Well maybe longer, but I wanted to see you come undone." He hugged her closer, bucking a little as his swollen member was pressed between them. 

"I think it's your turn," she said with a smile, her hand sliding down and gripping him. 

He made a grunting noise. "Can we give it a minute? I'm a little hot, not just aroused, but being under the water made me hot hot."

"Sit on the edge," she said seductively. 

He raised his eyebrows and did what she said, sitting on the tiled edge of the tub. Rose moved between his legs, which he widened. She maneuvered into place taking him in hand. He moaned lightly at her touch, but then let out a raspy groan when she sucked him into her mouth. Unconsciously his hand went to the back of her head, his fingers combing through as she took him deeper. 

She added a hand to cover the bit she couldn't. He was quite long as well as thicker than she had had before. Rose popped off and licked slowly up the underside of him and he hissed loudly. 

She took him back in her mouth and began working him. He groaned again and she looked up at him. His head was thrown back in bliss, a smile gracing his lips. He was beautiful, completely lost to her touch. She reached up and took his bollocks in her hand and he yelped. She popped off again. "Is that alright?"

He groaned again. "Oh, you have no idea just how alright it is. You're very good at this. I can't believe we've never-"He stopped short, looking down at her sadly. 

She took him in hand again. "I'm just glad we are now." she sucked him in again. 

"Oh yes," he said.

For the Doctor it was hard not to buck his hips, but he was aware of how big he was and though Rose opened her throat and let him hit the back again and again, he wanted more . She didn't gag or pull off, but took him again and again, her tongue swirling around again again. 

It happened all too quickly. His release came barreling through him. He barely got out, "Rose I'm gonna-"

He came with a shout and she took it all, sitting back a little when he was done to wipe her mouth, only to look up and see his wide eyes. 

"Wow," he breathed, "that was a long time coming." 

She giggled. 

"What?" he asked. 

"That has double meaning. Coming is what you just did."

"Oh, well I guess both meanings are true. I can't believe we're here, doing this, together. I can't believe it." With that he slipped back into the water beside her. 

She snuggled up next to him, resting her head on his chest. 

He took a deep breath. "Have I told you how wonderful you are?" he asked. 

"Well, yes I got that you are pretty impressed with my blow job."

He shook his head. "No, I mean I'm impressed with you. It's not like I never thought you would go far. You're smart and talented. But I never really thought about the evolution of you. When I last saw you, you were were what, about twenty? I knew then you would be fine. But now I see you and everything you do and have done. I mean you found me! You're incredible, I want you to know that. I am humbled in your presence."

"It's not-" she started.

"Yes it is, it's everything I said. Gods, I love you Rose."

She wiggled next to him. And he looked down at her, his expression reticent. He asked,"Was that too much? I'm sor-"

She reached up and put her fingers to his lips. "Shh, I love you too, Doctor. I was just letting it sink in."

"Do you know how many times I wanted to say that. And then on the beach when I did..." his arms gripped her tight. "I'm glad I got to say it on that same beach."

She sighed."I guess we just lost it in everything that happened next. I hadn't thought about it. Maybe if I had we wouldn't have struggled as much as we did. "

"But I couldn't have repeated it even if I tried. But now we know, and I don't know if I've ever been this happy. "

"I haven't." She laid a kiss on his lips that quickly escalated. 

After a minute she broke free. Shall we get out? The water's getting cold."

He hopped out,offering a hand for her. When she was on the tile, he wrapped a fluffy white towel around her, taking another for himself, and drying off quickly. 

She reached for her knickers and he slapped her hand away. "I'm not done yet, Dame Rose. Will you accompany me to our bed?"

She did a little curtsy. "It would be my pleasure, Sir Doctor."

He led her to the bed where he carefully took off her towel and tossed it over his shoulder to her giggle. 

He then led her to the side of the bed, where he pulled off the covers, settling her on the sheets. He then climbed on again, taking her in his arms tightly. "I have been waiting for this part for a very long time." He kissed her gently. 

"Me too. I actually never thought it would happen. I'm so glad it is."

He ran his hand up from her leg to her breast, cupping it lightly. Then he leaned in, taking it in his mouth. Rose keened. 

Her hands come down to his waist to take him in hand. "You're ready already?" she asked. 

"Remember, zero recovery time?"

Rose pushed him over onto his back, this time trailing kisses up him, stopping for a few minutes to suck on his nipples. 

"Whoa!" he gasped. "I had no idea that would-" She cut him off with a burning kiss, climbing on top of him while doing it. 

He writhed under her, hands moving up and down her back, the feeling of her soft skin all over his almost too much to handle. 

She sat up, his cock bobbing just in front of her as she sat on his legs. She leaned over and gave it a teasing kiss on the tip and he nearly lost his mind. With a smirk she got on her knees, hovering over him. "Are you ready for this?" she asked with a smirk.

"Please," he begged, "I've wanted it for so long."

Still smirking, Rose sank down just a little, until the head of his cock brushed her center. He bucked up with a strangled moan. "Please,"he said again. 

Slowly she lowered herself onto him, adjusting to the girth as she went. He stayed very still throughout, the only thing moving was his hands as he came up to reach for her. Then when she was fully seated, she looked at him with a smile. "I have never felt like this. You're magnificent."

"Anything for you, I was made for you, did you know that?"

"No, I thought regeneration was random."

"Kind of, but I made myself for you as best I could."

"I would have taken you however you were."

"I know that now." He bucked up into her and she returned his movement with lifting up until she was nearly out then slamming back down. 

He yelled out, and from then it was on. Rose bounced on him, setting a rhythm that made him just want to go faster. The without warning, flipped her, causing her to squeal in surprise. 

He braced himself on his elbows. "And this is how I want to finish, if that's OK."

"It's very OK," she kissed him hard on the mouth. 

He picked up his thrusts, faster and harder. He snaked his hand between them to stimulate her, but just the feeling of his pelvis crashing into hers was nearly enough. Soon his rhythm faltered and he came with a shout, just as Rose tumbled over too. 

The lay there, him rolling off, both sweaty, breathing hard. "That was..." she said.

"The most anticipated coupling in the history of the universe," he breathed.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey. I sincerely apologize for the slowness of the last updates. I really hope you like it. Onto the next!

They made love twice more before morning. It was sleepy, slow and wonderful. This time when Rose woke, she found herself snuggled tightly to his side. When she let out a sigh of contentment, he pulled her just a little closer. 

"You awake?" she asked in a whisper. 

"Yes."

"How long?"

"Two hours and 47 minutes."

She pushed back and sat up, taking him in. "What have you been doing?"

"Thinking. There's quite a lot to think about. "

"There is." She got up on one elbow and looked him over with a smile. "I have a question for you."

"Hmm?"

Rose took a breath, and her phone rang. She growled, then rolled over to get it. 

The Doctor knew just who it was as soon as she answered. 

"Did it work?" Jackie screeched over the phone, "I've been wanting to call but Pete wouldn't let me call until this morning. Did I wake you?"

Rose sighed heavily. This was going to be awkward. The Doctor eyed her with a smirk and leaned over and kissed her cheek. He then got out of bed, still in the nude and shimmied for her. She was trying to answer her mother, but kept giggling as he danced around the room. Finally he made it to the loo and blew her a kiss before going in. She heard the shower a few seconds later. 

After an interrogation from Jackie in which Rose somehow dodged any of the probing questions, she rung of, shaking her head. 

The shower was still running when she went into the loo. She was soon very happy it fit two.

OoOoOo

"So do you know if we have any idea of our plans for the day?" the Doctor asked while pulling on a sock. 

They had had a very good morning, then ordered room service and ate it in bed. Now they were both dressing, her sitting on the side of the bed and him on the end. 

"Yeah, as much as I don't want it to end, we have to get back. And on top of it all we have to face 'Hurricane Jackie'. I managed to dodge some of her questions, but won't be able to for long. She wants us back at the house tonight."

"Ugh," he said, "what time is our flight? Are we going straight to London?"

"Yes, a direct flight. We have late checkout but my mum asked what time we wanted to leave. I love being here...with you. But I also kind of want to get back, you know?"

He leaned back on the bed onto her lap. "I totally understand. So what time?"

We have to be at the station by 2. Is that alright?"

He took her hand and kissed each finger. "Of course. At least on the Zeppelin we can talk. I keep getting distracted."

Rose leaned town to kiss him. "Shall we explore a little?"

He frowned. "I suppose. I mean we can stay and have sex. I rather like having sex with you."

Rose giggled. "How about we explore a little and come back for that before we leave?"

The Doctor sprung to his feet and held out his hand to her. 

Rose giggled again. 

OoOoOo

They only made it to the station with thirty seconds to spare. Once boarded and settled in, he took her hand, kissing her knuckles. "You were saying something, or rather asking it, before your mother called. What did you want to ask?"Rose took a long pause, during which the leaned a little forward, close to her. 

She took his hand and pressed it to her chest. "Doctor, I've been thinking a lot about this."

"What?" Now he looked worried. 

She took her other hand and pressed it to his developing frown. "Just listen, I don't know why I'm so nervous about this." She blew out a breath. "Move in with me?"

He smirked."Um, that's a big step."

"No bigger than an nineteen year old taking off in a blue box to see all of time and space with a bloke she had met the day before. I have a guest room, you can stay in there if you want. But if you don't think-" she dropped his hand. 

He leaned forward, taking her hand back. "I do, I do think it's a good thing. I think it's fantastic. I don't know why I said that. It isn't a big step. It's a step back to what we had. It would be an honor to live with you again. But I can't guarantee the same amount of adventure. And it certainly won't happen every time I pull a lever and smash something with a - hammer?"

She burst into laughter, doubling over. She sat back up after a snort and wiped tears away. "You were doing so good. I think the word you are looking for is "mallet". But just being around you is an adventure. I can't wait for every new day."

"I might need a mallet eventually."

"I'll get you one. So what do you think?"

"Do I get to pick my side of the bed?"

She laughed again, pulling him close. "That is open to negotiation."

OoOoOo

Back at the mansion, they broke the news to Jackie, Pete and Tony. The only one that was sad was Tony, but he cheered up after hearing the Doctor promise to come over at least once a week just to play with him. Then he led the boy out for a ride in the go-cart. 

Jackie tried to get more information out of Rose while the boys were on their ride, but Rose was a master of deflection and soon had her mother telling her all sorts of gossip. 

"Hey Rose?" She turned to see him standing in the doorway holding an axe. "Care for a ride? I have something to show you."

They went out into the garage where she saw a double seater go-cart. Tony was next to it, grabbed a helmet from the passenger seat and ran towards her. Of course the helmet was pink. 

The boy was jumping up and down while handing it to her. "Doctor let me pick it out!" Rose smile widely at her brother's glee. 

She slid the helmet on. "Where are we going?" she asked.

"He's taking you to the place where he lets his mad out," Tony said, still bouncing. 

Rose raised an eyebrow and the Doctor just grinned and motioned to her seat.   
OoOoO

The Doctor climbed in next to Rose and settled the axe at his feet. "Ready?"

"Ye-ahh!" Rose yelled as he accelerated out of the garage. 

He took her on a loop around the property, bouncing around and speeding around trees. Rose shouted with glee. He took her to the ends of the property, to the reaches she hadn't been to in years. 

They ended at a stand of trees right on the border. He cut the engine and climbed out and Rose followed. She noticed that he had the axe. He came to a stop next to a tree that had seen better days. 

"Is this your tree?"she asked. 

He paused for a second. "Yup this is it." 

"Did you do all the damage?"

"No, it was not in good shape when I started, I just helped it along."

Rose knelt down to examine it. "There's blood on it." She looked up to him. "I'm sorry."  
She stood to face him.

He took her into his arms. "It wasn't your fault. You lived your life. I wasn't supposed to be here. You did the best you could. But you can imagine that it might be overwhelming."

"But I was still looking for him."

"But I wasn't what you wanted or expected. You had to adjust. I was a new man, with new emotions I have to learn to control. At first I couldn't control them well. I'm better now."

She hugged him tighter. I'm glad you're here. I'm glad we became us."

"Me too."

OoOoOo

The tree came down that night and two hours later he moved into her flat. 

OoOoOo 

Some time later-  
The Doctor walked down the hall of their flat, trailing his hand along a framed drawing as he entered their bedroom. To anyone who didn’t know, it looked like a framed child’s picture, but it was so much more. It had been drawn by the Doctor quite a while ago. It showed him on his blue suit and Rose and what might have been the remnants of a black question mark between them. It was almost imperceptible though, due to the big red heart that was now drawn over it. 


End file.
